Reign of the Hunters

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Chapter 197 Epic Tier Quest (Part 1)

If all the maps in Fate were said to have different beautiful sceneries, then the sunset in Hidden Treasure Gulf would be the most beautiful sunset in the entire game.

The azure sky, the sea, the lush green plants, and the bustling town by the seaside proclaimed the beauty of the map to any visitors. It was serene and beautiful, which was a perfect place to settle down. Ye Ci loved the scenery in the Hidden Treasure Gulf.

This beautiful place, however, was destined to be the place of sorrow for some. Purity Essence was one such unfortunate individual. Perhaps, even after a long while, he would refuse to set foot in Hidden Treasure Gulf despite its scenery.

Although Ye Ci was not looking at Purity Essence, she could feel his sorrowful gaze on her. His stare made her uncomfortable. Slowly turning her head, Ye Ci looked right into the deep, dark eyes of Purity Essence. He was smiling slightly, but it was a smile full of sorrow.

The entire ordeal was perhaps very painful for Purity Essence, but Ye Ci did not regret her actions. Human life was short, and nobody had the time to worry about somebody else’s joy or sorrow. Ye Ci merely had to do what needed to be done, and what she did, she would not regret.

Ye Ci, who raised her eyebrows, appearing to be calm. In reality, she was indeed calm. At least, she was way calmer than Purity Essence.

She spoke in a soft voice, “What? Is there something weird on my face? Don’t you think it’s rude for you to keep staring at me like that?”

Purity Essence snapped out of his swirling emotions upon hearing Ye Ci’s words. Had he not been sitting on the rock, he might’ve stumbled and fallen onto the ground. Panicking, he shifted his gaze somewhere else.

With Purity Essence remaining silent after retracting his gaze, Ye Ci shifted her attention back to fishing. The tense atmosphere between them had to be broken and Ye Ci had taken the first step, but she did not want to be too meddlesome as well. This was why she opted to wait and observe Purity Essence quietly.

After all, Purity Essence was no machine. He was a human being. Despite Ye Ci’s desire to acquire such a talented commander, she still needed to secure his loyalty. She did not wish for the person she spent so much effort in recruiting to be a walking corpse, it would be a huge loss for her.

Purity Essence was very anxious as the silence continued, his thoughts were in a mess. He finally made a decision after a long while, and spoke up slowly, “Gongzi You.”

Ye Ci snorted as an indication that she has heard his words. She was not overly enthusiastic, but not overly cold. It was as if she was a stranger waiting for an answer from another stranger.

It was fortunate that she had put up such a demeanor.

Purity Essence was able to calm himself down when Ye Ci showed an indifferent behavior. If Gongzi You was overly cordial, he would probably feel that he was in trouble.

“I lost.” These two words were so common that even a third grader would be able to read and write them. Those same two words, however, were also very rare. For someone to sincerely voice out those two words… It had to be harder than walking to the moon.

Such case was especially true for Purity Essence. With his arrogance, his pride, and his firm belief in his ideals crushed mere moments ago, saying those two words to Gongzi You was harder than killing himself.

But… Purity Essence squeezed those words out in the end.

Ye Ci was surprised. She did not expect Purity Essence to concede the result of this bet that seemed so insignificant to her. His willingness to admit his mistake also came as a surprise to her. Ye Ci was impressed. After all, not everyone could look squarely at their mistakes and admit their wrongdoings. Even Ye Ci herself… Even if she was a reincarnator… She might not be able to bring herself to achieve such a feat.

Especially when it was done in front of somebody else. A huge amount of courage was required.

However, despite her own thoughts, Ye Ci did not betray any hint of emotion. She maintained a calm and detached voice, “Oh. I see.”

Ye Ci’s indifference, however, infuriated Purity Essence. His voice was laced with grief and some resentment, “What? You have nothing else to say? Look at how correct you are! You’ve won the bet! Aren’t you going to say anything?”

Another fish was fished up by Ye Ci. She hung a bait on the hook and absent-mindedly cast the line out. “Then what do you want me to say?”

Purity Essence was lost for words. In truth, even he did not know what sort of answer he was expecting from Gongzi You. After calming himself down, he realized that Gongzi You was actually innocent. She did nothing wrong but was dragged into this controversy. When he put himself in her shoes, he realized that even if Gongzi You did not mind the incident, having her name always mentioned in the forums was vexing.

“To be frank with you, I don’t really care much about winning or losing,” Ye Ci remained indifferent, “So… I think there’s no need for you to be angry.”

“You don’t really care? I’ve left my guild because of this bet! And now you’re telling me that you don’t care?” Purity Essence was just like a bomb ready to explode at the slightest spark.

“What? Do you still think that you’ll never leave the guild, or that your friendship with your brothers in the guild would not be ruined if you did not bet with me?” Ye Ci laughed coldly, her narrowed eyes emanating cold rage as she stared at Purity Essence, and her sharp gaze stabbed into him like a sharpened knife.

Purity Essence, who wanted to reluctantly admit to this cold harsh truth suddenly could not bring himself to speak up. It was as if all his words were stuck in his throat. Even after a long while, he did not utter a single word. He knew that Ye Ci was correct. Even without the bet, he would have a fall out with his friends sooner or later and be forced out of Drunken Melancholy anyways if the situation continued.

“I said nothing wrong when I told you that I don’t care about the result of the bet. I admit that I’m interested in recruiting you, as you’re a very capable commander. ‘Upwards Ho!’ needs a battle commander like you. However, I don’t care whether you want to join ‘Upwards Ho!’ or not. After all, if you joined us because of a mere bet, you are of no use to us.” Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at Purity Essence. There were things that she needed to make clear to Purity Essence. She hated to be threatened by anyone, which was why she couldn’t show her weakness, even if it was to Purity Essence, who she looked up to.

“Besides, there are a lot of players in Fate. The Eastern Continent alone is home to a huge number of players. Even if I have my eye on you today, it doesn’t mean that somebody better than you will not appear tomorrow. So…” she continued after a short pause, her gaze growing colder, “Don’t blame your decision of leaving the guild on me. It’s not in my nature to carry somebody else’s burden for them.”

Is this the real Gongzi You?

Purity Essence shivered. So this is Gongzi You? Callous, relentless, and calculative. That was why people like her were said to be people who would place benefit above all else. It could be said to be her nature, or perhaps there was really not even a sliver of warmth in her heart?

Purity Essence felt that he was the exact opposite of Gongzi You. The thing he held dear the most was like garbage to Ye Ci, while he could not bring himself to accept her views. When the two very different ideologies clashed, it ended with the crumbling of his belief. Was he too naive? Or was Gongzi You too pragmatic?

He did not have an answer, nor did he have the desire for an answer.

It had always been like this. People who were sentimental would tend to be more ambiguous, to give themselves a semblance of warmth. People who were pragmatic on the other hand, tend to be calculative and tactful. They were also known by another name: businessmen.

“What do you mean?” Purity Essence was exhausted. He had simply wanted to play this game… But why did it cause so much trouble for him?

“I’ll always welcome you into ‘Upwards Ho!’, but the decision to join my guild is yours.” Ye Ci casually cast another bait into the water, “You’re right. I am different from you. I place benefits above all else. I am willing to go to any lengths to do something if it brings me benefit. You, however, are a sentimental person. I will never be able to understand your way of thinking. This is why I’ll leave the decision to you.”

Purity Essence appeared distracted as if he was thinking about something.

“But there’s something I need to make clear.” Ye Ci turned her head around and looked at Purity Essence with a piercing gaze, “As someone who places benefit above all else, I do not like a bargain that will place me in a disadvantage. If you join ‘Upwards Ho!’ while retaining loyalty towards your old guild, then it’s better for you to not join my guild.

Purity Essence still looked distracted, as if he had not heard her words.continued appearing distracted as if he had not heard Ye Ci. However, Ye Ci knew that he had, in fact, heard everything.

Ye Ci could not predict the thoughts of someone like Purity Essence. If she forced a decision upon him, it might induce his anger and this might spell disaster for her in the future. If she left the decision-making in his hands, however, the outcome would definitely be different.

Of course, Ye Ci did this under several conditions.

Firstly, Purity Essence already had a fallout with the members of Drunk Melancholy, which meant that he would never be able to rejoin the guild. Secondly, once he was associated with Gongzi You, no small guild would want Purity Essence to join them, while the large guilds would not have an interest in a nobody like him. Even if he was lucky enough to join one of the major guilds, it was almost impossible for him to distinguish himself. And most importantly, Purity Essence was a career gamer. As a career gamer, his priority was to earn money. He was able to earn just enough to sustain himself during his time in Drunk Melancholy. Without the support of a guild, his income would be badly affected. It would be impossible for him to survive without a team.

No matter how sentimental a person was, emotions and affection would not fill his belly.

Career gamers were individuals who played a game professionally, they relied on gaming to feed themselves. People like this could not afford to say no to money.

Purity Essence’s only option at this point was to join ‘Upwards Ho!’. Despite leaving the decision making to Purity Essence, Ye Ci had already left him no real option.

There was no detour, there was only one route that led to his final destination.

The only thing Ye Ci needed to do was to wait. When Purity Essence realized that the only real option he had was to join ‘Upwards Ho!’, he would willingly join the guild on his own accord.

With her goal obtained and a bountiful haul of fish, Ye Ci no longer had a need to stay in Hidden Treasure Gulf. She stood up, dusted her shoes and said sincerely to Purity Essence, “I hope we’ll meet again someday.” With that, she jumped into the water and swam away.

Before she could get too far, Ye Ci heard a shout, “Hey! Gongzi You!’

Ye Ci stopped. She turned around and faced Purity Essence, who had become tiny because of the distance. He stood on the rock, waving his hand excitedly at Ye Ci.

“I’ve thought it through!”

Purity Essence cupped his hands against his mouth and shouted out loud.

Ye Ci would never do something as idiotic as Purity Essence and shout back at him. Even if Fate was a highly realistic VRMMORPG, there was still something that could be done in the game that was impossible to pull off in real life. The private messaging system was one such example.

“What are you trying to say?” Ye Ci remained calm. She already knew the outcome of the situation, and therefore was not as excited as Purity Essence. She sent a private message to the man, hinting that they could employ such a means of communication.

“......” Purity Essence did not take the hint. He continued shouting at Ye Ci on the rock. But with the bellowing wind and their distance, Ye Ci could not hear a single word.

A confounded Ye Ci stared silently at Purity Essence. She realized how idiotic of a person he could be, his intelligence level would drop to an unprecedented low if he was excited. Is poaching him the right choice?

Unable to hear a single word, Ye Ci sent another message to Purity Essence, “Just talk to me via the private message channel. I can’t hear a damn thing you said over here!”

The shouting stopped, and Ye Ci received a private message from Purity Essence, “I’ve thought it through! I’ll join ‘Upwards Ho!’.”

“Oh..” Ye Ci replied calmly and sent a guild invitation to Purity Essence.

Hiya minna-san! How's everybody doing? I hope y'all are enjoying life! Here's an awesome chapter of the awesomesauce novel translated by an awesomtacular translator to brighten up your day.

So... *cough cough* Here comes the important announcement... So uhh... This will be the last chapter I'm going to post.....

Until next Tuesday because I have a midterm exam on Monday, and my lecturer haven't managed to cover all the topics that will be included in the exam so I have to do some extensive self-studying and carry myself in the exam... So yeah I'll be cultivating in some hidden cave somewhere and come out to face my foe on Monday. I'm very sorry guys.

Anyways... Don't forget that we always have a teaser next page! First in the comments type... FIRST BLOOD!

Desu Vult!!!