Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 285 Spotless… 

 

Fleeting Time was quick. 

 

Even Ye Ci did not have time to react to his sudden movements. She was still in his warm embrace in one moment, and in the next he was already charging at Spotless Autumn. Ye Ci was stunned. She could even feel the remnant of his warmth and the lingering sensation of his breath against her neck, but Fleeting Time was already on an approaching vector towards Spotless Autumn. 

 

His arrows were even faster. They had already buried themselves into Spotless Autumn’s body. 

 

Ye Ci was not the only one who was unable to react to Fleeting Time’s swiftness. Spotless Autumn was still greeting Gongzi You, and Fleeting Time was already pouncing on him like a hungry wolf. 

 

An arrow pierced sailed through the air straight at Spotless Autumn’s heart. Fortunately for the man, his reflex was still quick enough for him to avoid the hit, and he immediately cast a Magical Barrier. Had the attack connected, he would have lost half his life immediately. 

 

It was a fine day. 

 

And Spotless Autumn was in a good mood as well. He earned a huge profit in the morning by selling a large number of potions to the Black Plum Family. He did not mind who his customers were, as long as they were willing to pay a good price. Even if the three Northern Continent guilds were to purchase potions from him, Spotless Autumn would be happy to oblige as long as the pay up. 

 

He converted a large number of his earnings into real world currency, and immediately transferred them into his bank account. The remainder would be his in-game capital that kept him going. He headed immediately to the Flight Manager once things were sorted out. It was the day when the new patch is introduced into the game. 

Spotless Autumn would of course never forget the need to increase his level cap. He had accumulated a large quantity of experience points in preparation to exploring higher level maps while also leveling up his potion-making skills. 

 

With such a goal in mind, Spotless Autumn handed two gold coins to the Flight Manager despite his reluctance to part with his coins, and made his way to Hero City. 

 

After experiencing the not-so-smooth experience of taking off and landing, Spotless Autumn finally arrived at the landing platform of Hero City. He hid his face behind his hood, and began heading to the Job Center. 

 

The weather was good, and so was his mood. This should also mean that his luck might be good as well, but reality was far from that.  

 

Before Spotless Autumn could descend from the platform, someone in the crowd bumped into him, and he took a staggered step forward. He was not angry, as it was something to be expected in a place crowded with people. But his expression darkened when he took the step forward. 

 

F*ck! 

 

Spotless Autumn looked at the ground, and howled with anguish. He had suffered a lot at the hands of Hunters since his run in with Gongzi You. Most of the players who had accepted his bounty were from the Hunter class. 

 

This in itself was okay as he could deal with normal players easily. But tragedy struck on the second day of his 3-months bounty when he discovered that a top-tier Hunter had accepted his bounty. 

 

It was of course Fleeting Time of the Western Continent. 

 

Spotless Autumn almost broke into tears when he learned of the news. Goddamn it! Why did he have to accept the bounty! A Sorcerer, in a conventional sense, had a 1:1 odd of winning in combat against a Hunter. But after the time he spent with Gongzi You, Spotless Autumn no longer had the wish to fight a Hunter. He did not enjoy the “gift” he received from the system at all. 

 

To him, it was still something that was manageable, as Fleeting Time was on the Western Continent, while he was in the South. The chances of Fleeting Time hunting for him in his home continent was next to zero. 

 

And with that thought in mind, Spotless Autumn spent the week before the patch was introduced with his peace of mind. He then arrived in Hero City. 

 

This was supposed to be the beginning of something new. 

 

But he did not expect to be traumatized by Hunters right after at the start of his new beginning. 

 

Hunters were not tough opponents because of their formidable ranged attacks. They were hard to deal with because they were shameless. A fight against a Hunter was never a fair 1 on 1 fight. Because a Hunter would always receive help from his or her pet. A Warlock could achieve the same effect by summoning minions to his or her aid, but the summoned minions were on a timed life, unlike the pet of a Hunter. As long as they receive food, the pets would always be around their owners.

 

And of course, being the animals that they were, pets of a Hunter require food. And with the intake of food came the expulsion of waste. 

 

Spotless Autumn was impressed by the attention to detail of Fate developers. While player-controlled characters had no need of expelling their wastes, their pets were not exempted form this biological need. 

 

A Hunter’s pet eats and drinks, and this meant that they would naturally have aneed to defecate and urinate. 

 

The feces of a pet would usually be automatically removed by the system after 1 minute, which meant that it would not be a problem in the wild. But if the Hunter was in a city, they would have to clean it away manually with a special item generated by the system, and any feces that went unnoticed by a pet’s owner would remain on the ground until it was finally removed by the system a minute later. 

 

Players who found themselves having the misfortune of stepping on the feces of a pet before it was removed by the system could only wash it off from a water source. The unfortunate victims, as well as the players around them, would be constantly reminded by a system prompt that they had traces of feces on their shoes. 

 

It was a realistic feature that was hated by players. 

 

Especially the players who could not find a water source to wash the feces off. 

 

Spotless Autumn had the misfortune of stepping on a freshly baked “cake”. He could even see the Hunter and his pet leaving the scene. 

 

Motherf*cker! Spotless Autumn could only curse silently as anguish and sorrow filled his heart. 

 

And from that very moment, Spotless Autumn came to the conclusion that the Hunter class was the bane of his existence. 

 

The pet’s feces that was still on the ground was quick to be removed by the system, but not those that were stuck on Spotless Autumn’s shoes. 

 

Even the most talented poet could not even begin to describe the sorrow in Spotless Autumn’s heart. He shifted his weight to his other leg, and limped into the city in search of a water source. 

 

Because of his hood, Spotless Autumn’s name was not revealed to the players around him, but they were still avoiding him as if he was carrying the plague. 

 

He pulled his hood down tighter, and was praying silently that his identity would not be discovered by any passerbys. 

 

And after travelling through half the city, Spotless Autumn finally found a place with water. He immediately cleaned his shoe before finally letting out a sigh of relief. 

 

After washing away the feces as well as his bad luck, he made his way to the Job Center. 

 

And his journey there was smooth. A slight moment of misfortune was not an indicator that he would be jinxed for the rest of his day. Besides, such an occurrence was rare. Perhaps it could even be a form of luck. 

 

Spotless Autumn was someone who was able to console himself and be open-minded in times of misfortune. 

 

He was quick to arrive at the wisteria garden. 

 

The fragrant scent of wisteria entered his nostrils before he set foot into the garden, and this improved his mood greatly. 

 

He stopped to  enjoy the scenic view of the garden, taking in the beauty of the fluttering wisteria buds, the luster starlight, and the fragrance of flowers accompanied by music. 

 

At that moment, even Spotless Autumn who was not at all romantic could feel warmth creeping into his heart. He pulled down his hood, and breathed in the fresh air. 

 

Leveling, equipment, and strength should not be the only things that dictate the gaming experience of a player. 

 

Wouldn’t it be a waste to the efforts that the developers had poured into the game? 

 

Perhaps due to the relaxing atmosphere, Spotless Autumn no longer wished to head into the white building hidden in the center of the wisteria garden right away. It would be unwise to not have a look around. 

 

That was what he thought, and was of course what he did. 

 

He wandered about in the wisteria garden like the many players around him, immersing himself in the garden’s beauty. Some of the female players were striking up posts for pictures, while there were even a number of them who started dancing to the tunes of the bards’ songs. 

 

The players in the wisteria garden, despite hailing from different continents, ceased their hostilities in the midst of this beautiful scenery. 

 

Spotless Autumn even spotted a pair of players kissing and hugging each other. A smile appeared on his face. The atmosphere in this place was like an aphrodisiac that could trigger the desires of couples visiting the place, and this was something that even a single man like him understood in his mind. 

 

He rubbed the bridge of his nose and averted his gaze, turning around to continue making his way to the Job Center. 

 

As his eyes swept across the faces of the couple, he saw a familiar face. He reflexively turned around to stare at the face. 

 

At this point, the female of the couple was being pushed against a wisteria tree, and her face was obscured by the male’s head. Spotless Autumn could not see her face, but he could still see each and every movement made by the couple very clearly. The man’s hand was heading towards the woman’s waist. It was apparent that something more interesting would happen in the next minute. After thinking it over for a long moment, Spotless Autumn decided to have a closer look. 

 

But what he expected did not happen. The man did not continue his line of action, and instead pulled the woman closer with his back arched. As a man, Spotless Autumn knew what was going on, and a mischievous smile appeared on his face. 

 

Aiya, getting burned by the flames of desire is nothing good. It was something that he understood, and understood well. 

 

A particular part of the man’s body must be in pain right now. Spotless Autumn stifled a laugh. 

 

The man's movement allowed him a perfect view of the woman’s face. 

 

I-i-it’s Gongzi You!!! 

 

Are my eyes playing a trick on me? 

 

Spotless Autumn rubbed his eyes. It really is Gongzi You! 

 

Oh God, Gongzi You is doing something like that with a man in public?! 

 

I’m definitely dreaming! 

 

“Eh? Gongzi You! It really is you! Thought I got the wrong person!” Spotless Autumn offered her an awkward laugh. 

 

His words were immediately followed by an arrow that soared through the air towards him. 

 

F*ck! What was that?!