VRMMORPG: The Other World Online

San Zhe looked at the crystal in Cheng Xiu's hand curiously.

"What is that?" San Zhe asked her as he moved closer to her.

Cheng Xiu looked up at San Zhe. "It is called as 'The Dual Gem of the Vixia Forests'. It can give those that use it a boost in skill."

"Dual Gem? Why does that seem familiar?" San Zhe asked her.

Cheng Xiu struggled.

San Zhe turned to Yaksha for an answer and then thought better of it. There was no way that he dared to ask Lord Yaksha to explain.

Yaksha noticed the gaze that San Zhe had given him but did not feel the need to explain to the man. After all, the man was only at Level 6. He would learn more about such things after he had levelled up some more.

Cheng Xiu turned to Yaksha. "Do you know what it is?"

Ykahsa nodded.

Cheng Xiu smiled. "What does it do?"

"Every major kingdom in the Other World is home to Skill Stones, nad these skill stones are known by their kingdom names. The Dual Gem is one such skill stone. Its ability, unlike most skill stones, is to power up a person and make them have Realm Breakthroughs."

Cheng Xiu frowned. "Is it safe to force yourself to Breakthrough to a Realm despite the fact that the body would obviously not be ready for it?"

Ykahsa smiled. "That is the speciality of the Dual Gems. They allow the player to develop without the backlashes that they would usually face for forced Breakthroughs."

Cheng Xiu was very impressed by that and looked at the Gem in her hand. The Noon sun hit the red and blue crystals and reflected the coloured lights to her face mask.

"Brother Yaksha, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"If I place my hand into the water in the river now, will there be any consequences?"

Yaksha frowned. "No…if the water is red, then it is time for the creatures to rest in the forest. There should not be any problem."

"Thank you for saying that," Cheng Xiu said.

She looked at the river of the viridian forest and walked forwards.

"Sister Xiu? What are you doing?"

Cheng Xiu smiled at the blue-robed man even though he could not see it through her white mask. "I have a hunch."

"A hunch?"

Cheng Xiu nodded. "The crystal would only activate after I drop it in the Viridian river and the Azure Lake apparently."

San Zhe frowned. "Okay?... I don't get it…"

"You believe that by dipping it in the reiver now, you might activate the powers of the stone partially," Yaksha said.

"Correct," Cheng Xiu said. "I should happen logically. After all, stones like these, when they have more than one condition to meet means that its powers can be accessed in Levels."

San Zhe nodded in amazement. That did make sense.

Cheng Xiu walked forwards and dipped the hand that held the stone into the red water.

The blue side of the crystal started to fill up slowly with red water, turning that part of the crystal purple.

The crystal started to pulse.

Cheng Xiu started to lift her hand out of the river when something got ahold of her wrist.

Cheng Xiu froze.

It was a rotten claw of some kind of weird creature.

There was a flash of light in front of her vision.

The hand that held her wrist turned into dust, and a screaming voice rose from the river at that instant.

The creature hiding inside the river was despondent as it watched the crystal leave the water surface.

Cheng Xiu let out a huge sigh of relief and looked towards Yaksha. She knew that he must have been the person to have helped her.

"Thank you," Cheng Xiu said, she then gave him a scrutinizing look. "and I am not an invalid. I can take care of myself."

"That doesn't mean that I should stand still and watch you suffer when I can clearly help," Yaksha said to her.

Cheng Xiu frowned. "Did you not want to fight with me when I grew stronger?"

Just because you are going to be someone that I am going to fight in the future does not mean that I should not help you even when you are weak," Yaksha argued.

"That is exactly what it means," Cheng Xiu said. "I have honed my skills through trial and error. While I do not mind the players who want others to carry them, nor the people who use real money indiscriminately to reach the top position, my own fighting style is to fight to the best of my ability and find my weaknesses so that I can fix them in the future. Your help will not help me."

San Zhe looked at the still figure of Yaksha and wished that these two people would not wear masks so that he could know what their current expressions were. It would make things easier to handle.

"Why would you say that?" Cheng Xiu asked. "Am I actually difficult to handle?"

San Zhe's eyes widened. "I said that out loud?"

Cheng Xiu frowned. "Brother San..why are you so forgetful about such things when you are supposed to be a genius?"

San Zhe snorted. "I am book smart. Please don't expect me to suddenly be able to understand the world around me the way you do."

"So…about the mask thing…"

San Zhe raised his hand in panic. "I was just curious about your expression, nothing more!"

Cheng Xiu nodded. "Okay…will there be other players who are doing this task with us?"

San Zhe nodded. "There will be a lot of people."

Cheng Xiu pursed her lips at his words and turned to Yaksha only to find a man in simple, white robes and black pants in front of her.

The mask on his face had changed from black to gold.

"Uh…"

"Isn't this what you wanted?" Yaksha asked. "For me to wear a disguise that would make me inconspicuous?"

Cheng Xiu wanted to ask him where he thought he looked inconspicuous. The man was far too tall and well built that it was really hard to make him inconspicuous.

Cheng Xiu then looked at San Zhe.

San Zhe slumped. "You want me to wear a mask don't you?"

Cheng Xiu nodded her head guiltily. "And change your clothes. The other players should be somewhat familiar with your clothing too."

San Zhe wanted to cry. "Sister Xiu…you called the experts the Rainbow Squad before…we will be called the Masked Squad."

Cheng Xiu shrugged. "This is not for aesthetics though. This is so that we can avoid trouble as much as possible."

San Zhe slumped.. "Fine."