With a look at the gloves’ stats, Frenzied Sword’s breathing stopped for a moment, his face overcome with shock and surprise.
“I’m only lending them to you; you have to return them.” Han Xiao erased Frenzied Sword’s unrealistic hopes.
Frenzied Sword was still very touched. It was the right decision to suck up to Han Xiao, he could even receive such a benefit! Is it because he’s afraid that I’ll lose, making him lose face?
Putting on the gloves, Frenzied Sword had a greater sense of confidence. Standing fifteen meters apart from Laughing Blade, both of them braced themselves, getting ready to attack.
Nearby, players began crowding around to watch the show. They were mainly curious about Frenzied Sword and wanted to see the difference between a professional gamer who had his name reported on the system and a regular player.
“Even if he is a professional player, he should be about the same level in these early stages.”
“With only a few basic abilities, he probably can’t show off his mechanic abilities as well.”
“I think there’s an advantage in these early stages. Maybe he’s practiced fighting before in real-life, or he’s someone who was in the military. After all, the controls here are so realistic.”
The players murmured to one another.
With a low cry, Laughing Blade made the first move, launching himself forward. With every step, the sand on the ground wrapped itself around his calves and snaked up to his body, forming a sandstone armor covering his body.
His pistol can only fire at most five shots, and my abilities can definitely hold him off. As long as I close the distance between us, he’s definitely finished! Laughing Blade thought.
The players were all new. The level of their control was only at a level where they understood how to use the skills and what they did. Laughing Blade’s decision was correct, but Frenzied Sword’s reaction gave Laughing Blade a shock. Instead of moving back and using the pistol to kite him, he rushed forward instead.
Both people quickly collided into one another. Without thinking twice, Laughing Blade sent his fist, which was wrapped in sandstone armor, flying toward Frenzied Sword, and Frenzied Sword met his fist with his black-gloved palm.
Could this glove be special equipment?
Just as Laughing Blade had this thought, he suddenly experienced a series of burning pains. Stunned, he realized that his health points were reduced to zero in that moment.
His vision turned black as he immediately died.
From the start to end, this duel only lasted three seconds!
On the battlefield, only Frenzied Sword remained. The wind blew up the edges of his clothes. Expressionless, he truly resembled a solitary professional at the top of his game.
The surrounding players watched, dazed, unable to react.
“Was… was that an instant KO?”
“That’s way too fast!”
“Too overpowered! No wonder he could get on Galaxy Times!”
“Could the secret quest really have given him such a huge lead over the rest of us‽”
Everyone was a new player. Technically, their battle power should have been about the same. Using a pistol, it would take at least four or five shots before one would die, and Laughing Blade’s Esper ability obviously strengthened his defense. Some players remembered Laughing Blade’s performance during the wild-beast attack. When he was surrounded by two gray wolves, he was still able to hold them off. But when he fought with Frenzied Sword, he died instantly just by meeting fists with him?
What kind of godly attack power was this?
Everyone stared at Frenzied Sword’s glove, envy showing on their faces.
“That is high-level equipment!”
“Mechanics can make something like that? I thought they could only make guns!”
“I really want one too…”
Not long after, the revived Laughing Blade ran over, his face looking dark as he said unhappily, “Didn’t we agree that it would be a friendly battle? How could you… you…”
He originally wanted to say how could he have killed him, but he felt that saying it would be too shameful.
Having defeated an old opponent, Frenzied Sword only felt refreshed from being able to settle all the discontent from the past as he chuckled. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were so vulnerable.”
This sentence made Laughing Blade so angry that he could felt the heat rising up from his chest.
Calling me vulnerable for dying‽
It was a complete loss for him. Dying once cost him a lot of EXP. Laughing Blade was very upset. He initially thought that once the duel reached a certain point, they would end it, but he did not expect to be an instant-killed, not to mention he could not even blame Frenzied Sword. He was so distressed that he could feel his heart tightening up over this horrible situation.
After the crowd around them had left, Frenzied Sword obediently returned the gloves to Han Xiao, hesitating as he asked, “Han… Black Phantom, are you selling these gloves?”
Han Xiao looked at him from the side of his eye, opening up the shop listing as he added “thermo-electrical incisor gloves” at a fixed price of 80,000 with a reputation of 15 points. This set of gloves was a prize that he had seized from Rose Militant. After learning the basic knowledge upfront, he had instead experimented to create the blueprints to create the thermo-electrical incisor gloves. By spending some EXP, he could make one on his own now.
Frenzied Sword was instantly motivated. Excitedly, he clenched his fists. This close-combat equipment designed for Mechanics was his favorite. “I can’t afford it now, but I will be able to, sooner or later!”
Then, Laughing Blade suddenly inched closer. His gaze lit, he stared at Han Xiao and asked, “Black Phantom, I heard you’re enemies with Germinal. I want to join you.”
In this time frame, the discussion board had all sorts of different guesses as to how one could trigger the Black Phantom’s secret quest. They thought that as long as one showed their intention to become Germinal’s enemies, there was a chance that they could trigger Black Phantom’s secret quest. Many players were guessing the phrase to trigger that. In his short time in Green Valley Ville, Han Xiao had heard several of such guesses and had rejected them all. This led the players to a final conclusion—it was all about possibility when one was trying to trigger Black Phantom’s secret quest.
Laughing Blade was also trying his luck.
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh… You seem to be not bad.”
There’s a lead! Laughing Blade grinned in surprise.
Frenzied Sword’s heart fell. Getting nervous, he could feel a strong sense of discomfort welling within him for some reason.
“But you don’t seem to be up to par yet.” Han Xiao suddenly changed his words as he waved, rejecting Laughing Blade.
Laughing Blade had not even finished his breath and was left speechless for a while. His expression was annoyed. With his heart full of jealousy toward Frenzied Sword, he muttered to himself in anger, “This guy is really some lucky dog.”
Frenzied Sword heaved a sigh of relief, regaining his composure.
Han Xiao almost laughed aloud upon seeing Frenzied Sword’s reaction, as if he were a guy who had almost been cheated on…
Pfft, what kind of description was that? What would that make me? Han Xiao tossed aside this crazy idea.
On the interface, quite an amount of EXP had accumulated. For players in Green Valley Ville who intended to change their class, they all would have completed that by the next day. Han Xiao would prepare to leave after that.
While he was collecting EXP, someone recorded Frenzied Sword and Laughing Blade’s battle and uploaded it onto the forum.
…
Luzman was a player who came from Big Horn Village. By luck, he had managed to get into the phases of beta-testing and had been saving his money before he switched his class. He wanted to join the strongest class.
When it was time for public testing, he
saw Black Phantom’s battle and was captivated. Hurriedly, he wanted to switch to become a Mechanic. Other players tried to complete tasks to improve their relationship with Black Phantom, but Luzman could not wait. He used his money to gain five reputation points with Black Phantom. From the five basic knowledges that Black Phantom taught, he learned [Basic Weaponry Knowledge] as he liked this name the most.
But Luzman quickly realized that Mechanics were not as strong as Black Phantom made them out to be. After losing continuously in the duel, he felt that he had been cheated; this class was way too weak! But he could not bear to abandon his beta-testing account and had asked the customer service if he could change his class, but that was of course not possible, leaving him infuriated.
What a waste of having this opportunity to enter the beta test! This account is useless now!
Luzman had been extremely frustrated. Going onto the forums, he had put up posts everywhere, regardless of topic. He had planned to thoroughly bash the Mechanic class by repeating how trashy it was and let all of the players know that Mechanic was a trashy class!
Players had debated after his comments. Initially, Luzman had been satisfied with what he saw. That was his original intention. He had also enjoyed the feeling of his words being taken seriously by others.
Chapter 154 - Alumera's Searcher
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Scrolling through the forum, Luzman realized that he had been tagged. He clicked into the post, and there was a video of Frenzied Sword and Laughing Blade dueling, and people were gloatingly asking him to explain himself.
Luzman had recently gone crazy hard on mechanics on the various forums. His stance was not the most annoying thing; him posting everywhere was what annoyed people the most. He constantly forced people to read his post as if they were not already aware of his comments. This behavior made him loathed by everyone.
“@Luzman, a Mechanic has killed an Esper. Why don’t you come out and explain?”
After watching the video, Luzman immediately retorted, “This is just a rare instance. That Laughing Blade did not know how to play at all!”
“Ha, you’ve suffered consecutive duel losses, but how did someone else win? Just admit you’re a rookie, Luzman.”
Luzman stifled his anger and replied, “Frenzied Sword has triggered a secret quest. He was more advanced in rank and equipment; there is no point in battling!”
“Do you mean the equipment given by NPCs isn’t enough? Then what for are you doing missions for? Taking rewards for what? Collecting money for what? Just admit you’re a rookie and stand still when being scolded!”
Damn it! Luzman was fuming, he straight away came back. “What I said about Mechanics being weak was none of your business!”
“Then why are you posting that everywhere? Think before you speak, won’t you?”
Luzman was exasperated. “Damn you, can you stop barking? Are you that low for you to come and be scolded by me!”
“Finally, your true colors have shown. You’re a troll, stop acting. You chose this profession on your own, how can you say you were cheated? This is hilarious, who do you think you are? Why would the gaming company cheat you? Were you looking for your sense of existence everywhere?”
“I would not have chosen Esper if the Black Phantom did not lie to me!”
“Oh, it wasn’t my fault; it’s the world’s fault. Nobody pointed a gun at you, forcing you to choose your class, did they? Are you that dumb to push the blame to an NPC? If you regret it, open a new account, and stop posting everywhere, you brat!”
“Son of a b*tch…” Luzman was seething.
At this moment, an official message appeared on Luzman’s screen.
_____________________
It was detected that you frequently used insulting terms, hence your forum account will be banned for three days.
_____________________
Luzman was stunned. What the hell!
He was unable to reply. Naturally, the players on the forum soon discovered this and gloated at him.
“Haha, banned for cursing, aren’t you?”
“This is great.”
“Let’s go, he is clearly a troll.”
Luzman could only read and not reply. He was indignant and sullen, itching to smash something.
…
“That’s interesting.”
Han Xiao finished reading the forum’s comments, and his fingers were itching to reply, but sadly, he could not. Thinking back when he was on the forum, he loved to watch people getting into a catfight; that was a great pastime.
However, there were some people who got really angry because of the catfight; these were the people who were too innocent. If you are unable to win an argument, just treat it as something to do for fun. Everything on the Internet is pointless; it is all virtual and will not affect you in real life.
Han Xiao had also once been a despised power-leveler. He had been bashed by other players. When there was nothing to do, he could get into a catfight and treat it as something to lighten up his day.
Looking at the lively players on the forum while he himself could only be a spectator, Han Xiao felt very lonely. He missed the days when he was involved in a fiery verbal sparring… even though he had always felt that the term ‘verbal sparring’ was filthy.
Looking at the time, it was nearing dusk, and the battlefield had been cleaned up.
Han Xiao heard an engine from afar; he raised his eyes and gazed into the distance. There were a few off-road vehicles speeding across the muddy road. Green Valley Ville opened its gates, and Balsas was standing beside the gate to welcome these few vehicles with respect.
A thought flashed through Han Xiao’s mind. The vehicle has an Alumera crest.
…
When the off-road vehicle drove into the town, armed guards got off the bus and guarded a man who was dressed exquisitely.
Xiao Jin, the second leader of Alumera, had sent the emissary Xiao Rui to South Continent to find the Germinal Bounty, Zero. More than half a year ago, the Alumera family had realized that the appearance of this Zero was exactly the same as the missing Han Xiao, so Xiao Jin sent people to look for him. However, they had ended up empty-handed for a long time. Xiao Rui was the leader of the search team.
Balsas was extremely deferential toward Xiao Rui. He led everyone into the main house. The table was set with drinks and piping hot, fragrant barbequed meat. There was a cross-sectional cut on it, and the texture of the skin looked like a wave of an ocean. There was a hint of pink in the middle of the reddish-brown flesh. It was clear that the meat was tender even without biting into it. It was Gray Devil Wolf’s meat that had been collected two hours ago, and it was extremely fresh. Other dishes included some vegetables and mashed potato-like crop.
In this rogue town, the expenses of the dishes were considerable, and Xiao Rui was very satisfied with Balsas’ hospitality.
The group sat down around the food, and Xiao Rui, who was covered in dust, scoffed down the food. He ate three pieces of barbecue meat in one go and only slowed down after he swallowed them. He wiped his mouth and said calmly to Balsas, who waiting at one side, “I will rest for a few days in your territory and continue to find that damn bastard.”
“I’ll get someone to prepare the rooms,” Balsas replied. “Let me know again of any requests.”
Xiao Rui’s status in the family was higher than his, hence Balsas’ posture was awfully low.
“Okay.” Xiao Rui was pleased with Balsas’ attitude. He decided to stay for a few days more in Green Valley Ville. He had spent this last half a year searching for news of Zero in the South Continent, and he had enough of this aimless searching; it was a form of torture.
Ever since Han Xiao’s disappearance, the family thought that he was dead and did not take it to heart. However, after finding out that he had become Zero, everyone was shocked. Alumera did not wish to provoke Germinal. Thus, to find out what exactly happened, Xiao Jin assigned him to br
ing Han Xiao back to the family for questioning, yet the target had not been found after six months.
Xiao Rui was filled with resentment toward Han Xiao. It was all because of this ‘regenerated’ guy that he could not enjoy his life in comfort at his family’s headquarters.
He had met Han Xiao a few times before; he was weak and hopeless. If not for him being Xiao Jin’s biological son, he would have been sent to clean the toilets. Xiao Rui was an orphan adopted from a war, and there were many orphans like him under Xiao Jin. All of them grew up competing with one another, and each racked their brains scheming to improve their status. Hence, he was extremely envious of Han Xiao as he did not have to struggle as much.
Initially, when he heard that Han Xiao had died, he was secretly very happy during his funeral. He knew that his adopted brothers felt the same way even though they were grieving on the outside.
The first impression Xiao Rui had of Han Xiao made it difficult for him to link Han Xiao and the Zero that was talked about on the Dark Net.
Why didn’t you just die and leave me alone? Why must you give me so much trouble?Xiao Rui had grumbled on more than one occasion. He looked at Balsas and chatted for a while before asking casually, “Is there anything going on recently in this town?”
“Yes, those refugees outside…” Balsas told him about his findings.
Xiao Rui was surprised. “There’s actually such a weird crowd? You have to report your findings to the family.”
“I know… There’s something else. Black Phantom is also resting in this town. His reason is unknown; he claims that it was on the way.”
Xiao Rui’s heart skipped a beat. “Black Phantom is here, too?”
Recently, the Dark Net’s killer list had been updated. Black Phantom’s rank had risen to seventh, and he was very active. To know that this legendary killer was nearby, Xiao Rui was somewhat uneasy.
The Legendary Mechanic c1-1385 Page 88