Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 229 Orthus (Part 1)

With the Black Iron Dwarves busy exploring the Mithril ore vein, Ye Ci seized the opportunity to continue her Epic-tier quest.

She brought a return message from the Doran Thieves Guild to Dark Clay City. Just like her previous visit, Ye Ci was received by the Mayor instead of the lord of the city.

“Well done, Elf. You’ve completed your mission,” said the Mayor after reading the letter. He then lifted his head and narrowed his eyes. A smile that sent chills down Ye Ci’s spine formed on the Mayor’s lips. “I’ll inform Lord Moore about your exploits. I’m sure he’ll be happy to receive the news. As you know, Lord Moore’s health is in decline, but he is still busying himself with a lot of different tasks. As his subordinate, I’m extremely worried. Can you do me another favor?”

Ye Ci knew that the third stage of the quest had officially begun. She did not know how long it would take her to complete the quest, but with so much time and energy already invested, there was no way she could back down.

“Of course, it will be my honor.” Ye Ci bowed at the Mayor while internally laughing at her own hypocrisy. She was forced to take on the task! What sort of honor was she talking about?

“This will be a long journey. Are you sure that you’re up for the task?” The mayor of Dark Clay City was satisfied with Ye Ci’s answer. However, for reasons unknown, he asked for confirmation from Ye Ci once again.

“As long as my efforts are able to help Lord Moore out, I’ll do my best.” Ye Ci nodded.

“Alright then. This will be a long journey. You might be away from home for a very long time. I hope you won’t get homesick.” The mayor nodded. From his expression, however, Ye Ci could tell that the mayor was not at all concerned. “Head to Tempest Ravine and blow this whistle by the broken iron bridge at 12 am. Someone will meet up with you. He’ll tell you what to do next.”

The mayor then handed an old whistle made out of bone to Ye Ci. One could tell from the dull surface of the whistle that it worn out from a long time of usage. “May the Gods be with you. Lord Moore will be awaiting your return,” said the mayor.

Ye Ci furrowed her brows as she received the whistle from the mayor. If she was not mistaken, Tempest Ravine was a map that connected the Southern Continent and the Western Continent. The map itself was divided in half by a huge ravine into separate territories belonging to the Southern Continent and the Western Continent.

Don’t tell me that… He’s sending me into the Western Continent…

It was exactly as Ye Ci had expected. After logging off from the game, Ye Ci did a quick search on Fate’s official website about the Tempest Ravine and found an object connecting the South and West territories at the narrowest point of the ravine.

It seems that I’ll be gone for quite a long time then.

Ye Ci then proceeded to inform the officers of Upwards Ho! that she would be away from the Eastern Continent. Although Bai Mo was in his own hometown, he would still log into the game at night. After leaving him a message, some gold coins for her parents, and restocking her arrows, Ye Ci headed to the Southern Continent.

Due to the nature of her business, Ye Ci did not inform Fluttering Red Feather of the Southern Continent of her trip to his home continent. She headed straight for her destination: Tempest Ravine.

The Tempest Ravine was a long and narrow map divided into two parts by a deep ravine into Tempest Ravine (a) which belonged to the Southern Continent, and Tempest Ravine (b) that was under control of the Western Continent.

Before the Jiama Continent was split into four smaller continents, there was a metal bridge that connected both sides of the ravine. However, NPCs from both sides took the bridge apart after their continent was split apart, and built fortifications to keep each other out.

The Tempest Ravine in its current state was dotted with massive fortifications and towers, but one could still spot the rusting metal bridge from afar…

As Ye Ci stood at the mouth of the valley, she could see a horde of red NPCs moving on the other side. They were the Elites posted to guard the bridge. The NPCs were all high leveled and had huge amounts of defense and hitpoints. Even a single one of them was a tough opponent for Ye Ci. Taking on a huge group was next to impossible.

She fiddled with the whistle in her palm and patiently waited for time to pass.

The NPCs guarding the bridge would not forbid players from allied factions from entering enemy territory. However, when a player from an opposing faction set foot on their territory, all hell would break loose.

Ye Ci sat by the bridge, patiently waiting for the sun to set.

Her heart was as calm as the water in a lake as she observed the scenery. What will I run into on the other side? Will everything go smoothly in the Western Continent? How long will I take to complete the quest? The answer to questions like these could only be determined in the future. The only thing Ye Ci had to do at the moment was to cross the valley at 12 am.

Sentries patrolled the Southern Continent side in groups of 6 at 30-second intervals. It was very unlikely that a player from the Western Continent could cross successfully into the Southern territory undetected. The same applied to Ye Ci as well. Crossing over to the other side was next to impossible for her.

Ye Ci studied the whistle and found nothing special about it. What sort of NPC will get me across at 12 am? She wondered.

Time can be a very strange thing.

It can slip past in the blink of an eye when one was not paying attention. However, when it mattered the most, it felt as if a person could accomplish impressive feats in the span of a second.

Ye Ci was in the exact situation as she sat on a wooden pile at the edge of the valley, with a straw in her mouth, while staring at the setting sun. She hoped that time could pass faster, but time had an idea of its own. It remained still and unmoving. Ye Ci cast frequent glances at the in-game timer, and to her dismay, the time displayed remained the same. Must I really wait in boredom until the time is right?

Waiting was something that Ye Ci was not good at. With nothing to do and a lot of time left on the clock, she decided to log out of the game. The house was extremely quiet as Ye Ci climbed out of her gaming cabin. Bai Mo was away in his hometown, while Tan Polang was at school and Ye Ci’s parents were busy leveling up their skills in-game. There was nothing for her to do even in real life.

Ye Ci walked into the living room with the help of her crutches. The brilliant light of the setting sun poured into the living room as Ye Ci sat on the couch and stared at the television screen. She switched through channel after channel with the remote, with boredom gripping down on her mind.

Even Ye Ci herself was not sure if she was too matured, or if the shows on the TV were just too meaningless. Nothing caught Ye Ci’s eyes as she switched through the channels. How am I going to survive until midnight?

“We’ve just received the latest news from Glory Corporation. At the National Stadium today, the corporation has officially launched the countdown to the first expansion of , “A New Continent”. As a VRMMORPG introduced in 2050, was a game different from its predecessors. With the latest technology that improves the sense of touch, and the 100% realism in the game’s environment, as well as its perfect integration of different cultures from all around the world, the game can be said to be something that is ahead of its time. Since the launch of , the game has been holding the record of the gaming platform with the most users online, and the number has only been increasing since the game’s introduction…”

Ye Ci stopped at a news channel with the host introducing Fate’s upcoming expansion with a smile on his face. It was not the first time Fate had made its way into the news. Fate has already developed from a casual gaming platform into something so popular that corporations, political organizations, and even the military had established some presence in the game. Fate was slowly becoming something that was more and more relevant in the daily life of the people.

This was why news about the game was very common.

In normal circumstances, Ye Ci would not pay any attention to the news as shows like this were very common, and Ye Ci did not have the time and energy to waste on them.

This particular news, however, managed to attract Ye Ci’s attention.

The first expansion, “A New Continent”, was already on a 30-day countdown. This meant that the developers would introduce a huge array of new quests into the game. These quests would help in improving the levels and equipment of players, which would ease the process of clearing lower level dungeons. Of course, the introduction of the expansion would also mean that the arrival of Golden Era was near.

Ye Ci was confused by the developer’s decision.

Even a normal player like Ye Ci had caught wind of the impending arrival of Golden Era that was hired by a rival of Glory Corporation as an act of sabotage on Fate. She could not believe the fact that the developers of Fate and the higher ups of the Glory Corporation had no knowledge of such an event. They must know the impact that Golden Era will bring to Fate. Why are they still releasing an expansion despite the risk? Why are they doing this? Are they daft? Or am I not looking at this from a broad enough standpoint?

However, what the higher-ups of Glory Corporation thought of Golden Era was irrelevant to Ye Ci. Her only concern was to look for a way to survive before the introduction of the new expansion, and the arrival of Golden Era.

This was a very troublesome problem.

She suddenly thought of a certain someone.

Ye Ci logged into the game and requested for Customer Service No.094. Even if it was a slightly difficult request for the customer service receptionist, she could not reject a request made by a player as long as it was reasonable. The receptionist immediately notified Wang Jiangnan of Ye Ci’s request.

This piqued the curiosity of Wang Jiangnan. “Why are you looking for me through a channel like this?”

“I am a player. Isn’t this how I should be contacting a developer?” Ye Ci laughed at Wang Jiangnan’s question.

“I’m in Tempest Ravine at the coordinates 1893:47:3652. Are you free at the moment? Can you come?” Ye Ci knew that every call made to a customer service employee would be recorded, which was why she would not discuss certain things with Wang Jiangnan through the channel.

She had even thought up of an excuse for Wang Jiangnan, “I seem to have stumbled upon a BUG. Please come over and have a look.”

Even Wang Jiangnan himself was convinced by Ye Ci. Even if he was not the manager on duty, he would still gladly log into the game because of his friendship with Ye Ci. “Alright. Give me a minute.”

Ye Ci waited patiently after ending the call. Before long, a lvl1 account appeared right beside her. Who else could it be if not Wang Jiangnan? He was indeed a person who was dedicated to his job. “So what BUG did you run into?” said Wang Jiangnan the moment he saw Ye Ci.

Ye Ci smiled and motioned to a spot beside her, “Why don’t you have a seat first, and we’ll talk.”

Wang Jiangnan took a seat and surveyed his surroundings. He was quick to realize the reason Ye Ci was sitting at this place. “You received an Epic-tier quest?”

“Yup.” Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. “Can you give me some spoilers? What’s waiting for me on the other side?”

Wang Jiangnan shook his head. “Will it still be fun if I tell you now? Besides, I’m not the one who designed this Epic-tier quest, and I did not take part in testing the quest. I know nothing about the quest,” said Wang Jiangnan, and he immediately redirected the conversation back to the BUG. “Didn’t you say that you discovered a BUG? What is it? If a player like you can discover it, that BUG must be a game-breaking one.”

“There is no BUG. It’s just an excuse that I thought out for you.” Ye Ci took the straw out of her mouth and twirled it around with her fingers. “There’s something else that I want to talk to you about.”

“That’s new. There’s something that you want to say to me? Don’t you hate us developers?” Wang Jiangnan raised his eyebrows.

“It really depends on the situation. When my personal benefit is in jeopardy, I don’t mind coming into contact with your lot.” Ye Ci did not even attempt to mask her intention of using Wang Jiangnan for her benefit.

Wang Jiangnan was curious. Gongzi You was the top player of the Eastern Continent, and one of the best players in the entire game. There was nothing much that could threaten her. “Heh, now I’m interested. So what is the thing that is so threatening to you?”

“Why are you releasing that expansion so early?” Ye Ci did not beat around the bush, “Don’t you know that Golden Era is coming?”

Here you go, minna-san! Another awesome chapter of this awesomesauce novel translated by an awesomtacular translator(that's me, by the way!)! Enjoy!!!!

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