Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 355 Choice 

 

Ye Ci instinctively jumped backwards, but something grabbed hold of the sole of her foot before she could land. She lowered her head, and was immediately hit in the face by a gust of hot air. A fissure had opened up below her, and a hand extending out of the fissure was grabbing on to her foot. 

 

She would be lying if she claimed to not have been scared by such a situation. A scream made its way out of her mouth, but at the same time, her body reacted out of sheer instinct. 

 

Before Ye Ci could realise it, she had already pulled her dagger out of its sheath, and she plunged it right into the hand. 

 

The hand immediately loosened its grip and shrunk back into the fissure. Ye Ci stumbled backwards and fell onto the ground. I have to leave this place! She thought as she turned around to flee. 

 

She was fast, but there was something faster than her. She could feel a hand on her arm pulling her backwards before she could make it to the entrance. 

 

It was the beggar. He had a very unremarkable appearance, but his grip on Ye Ci’s arm was strong. The door behind the beggar swung open, but there was nothing but a dark void. Ye Ci swung her dagger at the beggar, but an eerie smile appeared on his face, “The same trick will not work twice, Elf!” 

 

The beggar then released Ye Ci, and her body was immediately sucked towards the door. 

 

But nothing happened. It was as if there was no crevice on the floor, nor was there a beggar. It was almost like the incident that happened earlier was just an illusion. 

 

Ye Ci felt herself floating into the air, and was then slammed onto the ground. She could taste copper in her mouth as the impact jarred her body, and she was lifted up into the air again. 

 

Her vision was dark the moment she was sucked into the door. But she could still see her own status. Her health was dangerously low. 

 

Her HP, that was nearly at ten thousand, was reduced to a mere two digits. Even the slightest wind could take away her life. She attempted to produce a Health Potion from her inventory, but was prompted by the system, telling her that she could not move. 

 

Oh really now? So I’m basically sitting duck right now? 

 

Her body fell towards the ground approximately five seconds later, reducing her health to a single digit. 

 

Ye Ci was screaming internally when she looked at her HP, “F*ck you! Kill me if you want to! What did I do to deserve this?” 

 

“Was it fun, Elf?” 

 

The voice rang out in Ye Ci’s ears as she was seething with anger. A dim light entered her view, and she saw the beggar kneeling on top of a pillar not fair away. 

 

YeCi attempted to move her head, and there was no system notification this time. This meant that he had finally regained her movement. She immediately drank a bottle of Health Potion, and her increasing HP was a soothing sight. “Who are you?” she asked the beggar as she took a defensive posture. 

 

The beggar chuckled with the voice of tens of thousands of knives scratching the surface of a glass. 

 

Ye Ci took in a deep breath so that her state of mind would not be affected by the eerie situation. She stared silently at the beggar as she slowly calmed her nerves. 

 

The beggar was staring at Ye Ci like it was a predator studying its prey, and Ye Ci was very uncomfortable under his gaze. 

 

“What do you want?” Ye Ci finally spoke up after a long moment of silence. 

 

“What do I want?” the beggar chuckled, “do you really not know, Elf?” he stood up and extended his warm. With a shout, a pair of black wings sprouted from the beggar’s back as his form slowly changed into a demon. 

 

The demonized beggar blew a puff of smoke into the air and flapped his wings. He pointed his claws at Ye Ci, “I am a subordinate of the Dark Lord. Do you understand why I’m here now, Elf?” 

 

And Ye Ci naturally did. 

 

That’s fast! I’ve just returned to the Middle Continent and they’ve found me! I guess I’ll have a rough time ahead. She glanced at the status of the demon, Oh great, lvl150...

 

A monster at this level could easily take Ye Ci’s life even if she had help from all her pets and Alaunar in the fight. 

 

This was all due to their difference in levels. 

 

“What if I say no?” Ye Ci prepared herself for combat despite their vast difference in levels. She was not one who would go down without a fight. 

 

“Do you perhaps intend to fight me, Elf?” the beggar, or rather, the demon named Lornar laughed. 

 

“What if I do?” 

 

“Do you think you can stop me? You’re just like an ant to me!” Lornar extended a claw at Ye Ci, “I can squash you here and now like a vermin if I so wish to.” 

 

“And so what?” Ye Ci retorted, “I’ll never give you what you want.” 

 

Lornar’s purplish pupils contracted. It was apparent that Ye Ci’s defiance had angered the demon. But he did not immediately explode into rage. He merely chuckled and began flapping his wings. 

 

The demon flew in circles around Ye Ci, but she stood her ground. 

 

“Think about it carefully, Elf. I can kill you very easily.” said Lornar as he hovered in front of Ye Ci. 

 

“We adventurers are not afraid of death.” death meant nothing for Ye Ci, as it merely meant that she would be losing some experience points and equipment. But with her progress, she would be able to recover the loss very quickly. 

 

Lornar had expected Ye Ci’s rejection, and the demon was not angry, “You think too highly of yourself, Elf. You’re the most evil adventurer I’ve ever seen. Just take a look around the city. None of its citizens were willing to talk to you. So why are you still trying to help them? Have you not realised that beings like me are the best companions for you?” 

 

Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. The NPC is actually smart enough to threaten me with my Sin status? 

 

“What do you think? I’ll not harm you if you hand over what I want. We’ll even open a door to another realm for you. It’s a world that you’ve never seen before. Everyone in this world crave for strength, but it comes with a price. The price you have to pay happens to be what I want.” said Lornar. 

 

Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and pondered the question carefully. If I hand the arrow to Lornar, doesn’t it mean that I’ll be joining Naga’s faciton? This has not happened in my last life! Is this a system that I’ve not heard of? And if it really exists, won’t I be able to benefit greatly from it by joining their side right now? But what if he’s lying to me? 

 

If he’s lying… And I hand over the arrow just like that… Doesn’t it mean that the search for Dau’er will stop right here and now? Doesn’t it also mean that I’ll never live to see the day all five arrows of Dau’er are discovered? 

 

This was a tough choice to make for Ye Ci indeed. 

 

“What say you, Elf? Don’t you want to be stronger? Stronger than anyone else?” Lornar seemed to be rapidly losing his patience. 

 

Ye Ci smiled at Lornar, “And what if I still refuse?” 

 

“Foolish Elf!” anger finally erupted from Lornar. With a loud screech, the demon struck at Ye Ci, instantly taking her life, “Do you think I can’t do anything to you just because you can keep reviving yourself?” he roared at Ye Ci’s corpse, “You’ll regret rejecting Lornar today, Elf! Naga’s army will pursue you to the end of the world until the day you disappear!” 

 

A system notification appeared before Ye Ci as Lornar flew away, “You’re not allowed to Revive yourself in an Unknown Area. Please resurrect yourself at the grave. You will be resurrected in a random city. Do you accept?” 

 

Ye Ci was forced to accept the choice. 

 

She did not know why she ended up rejecting Lornar. Her usual self would definitely fall to Lornar’s temptation. The ability to gain new strength and the opportunity to explore an unknown area of the game was something that she would usually not let go. 

 

But she made the choice to reject the offer. She did not know why she made the decision, but it was something that she did not regret. She came to realise that strength was not everything in the game. Even powerful beings like Naga and Dau’er would eventually face their death. 

 

She wanted to know the story behind Dau’er’s past, and because of that curiosity of hers, she sacrificed the opportunity to gain strength. And she did not regret the sacrifice she made. 

 

With her option confirmed, Ye Ci arrived at the grave with a bright flash of light. She studied her surroundings, and found herself somewhere she did not recognize. 

 

Color flooded back into her world. The map was filled with red. The very ground she was standing on, and the skies were all an unsettling shade of red. 

 

A sound entered Ye Ci’s voice as she looked at the details of the map. It was a voice that she would never forget, “Aiyo, we’re truly destined to meet aren’t we, Little Gongzi! We even resurrected at the same place.” the voice said in a tone that was a mixture of shock, joy, and teasing.