VRMMORPG: The Other World Online

Cheng Xiu jumped to the side, her red glowing eyes looking at her opponent in rage.

Cheng Xiu's mind went between bouts of clarity and haze, like it could not determine which was its original state.

San Zhe stood in a corner, holding his trident at the ready for just in case she decided that attacking him would be better than attacking the monsters. Yaksha stood back, staring at Cheng Xiu's agitated form.

He wondered why she was able to distinguish that she should be fighting with the monsters and not with him. San Zhe asked Yaksha the doubt.

"It is because she is moving on instinct," Yaksha said.

San Zhe gave him a curious look.

"When the place had both you and the monster, she would choose to fight the monster, whereas, when it is just you, she will fight you first."

San Zhe's eyes widened. "Does that mean it has nothing to do with the fact that she recognises me?"

"No," Yaksha said, breaking his hopeful heart to pieces. "She does not think of you as a threat…or more precisely, compared to the monster, you are not that much of a threat."

San Zhe wanted to cry at those cold words.

Cheng Xiu beheaded the third bulky Rat.

San Zhe frowned. "Shouldn't sister Xiu find it harder to fight against these creatures? Why is it that all three of these creatures seem to be the same in power?"

"Because they are all in the same position."

Cheng Xiu turned to them.

San Zhe flinched and backed away.

Cheng Xiu started to attack San Zhe.

"Sister Xiu! Why me!" San Zhe asked as he blocked her attack. The man sounded completely betrayed.

Yaksha sighed. "Because my Level Suppression means that you seem like the bigger threat."

San Zhe's eyes stinged. He couldn't believe that he was considered more powerful than Yaksha of all the people.

The black robed man felt sorry for San Zhe but did not try to stop Cheng Xiu. As long as her attack would not kill San Zhe, he would not intervene.

Cheng Xiu attacked him again and again.

San Zhe tried to block the thrusts and slashes towards him as much as he could. He found it really hard, keeping Cheng Xiu away from him even though she was not using any of her skills or fighting techniques. With this it was obvious that if she had even a bit of her thinking ability, San Zhe would have died.

Yaksha watched as San Zhe started to get overwhelmed again. Just as he was about to save the blue robed man once more from the masked girl's attack, San Zhe made a move he did not before.

In his panic, he forgot that Cheng Xiu was being controlled and took out a talisman from his storage ring.

Yaksha looked at him curiously.

San Zhe used a thread of Qi to activate the talisman.

The talisman glowed blue and turned into glowing inscription in the air.

The inscription floated towards San Zhe's trident and etched itself onto the golden metal surface.

Yaksha raised his eyebrow behind his mask.

"Burst!" San Zhe screamed.

A powerful jet of water burst out of the trident's middle spoke and hit Cheng Xiu right in the chest.

Cheng Xiu flew away and got hit against the wall on the opposite side, making cracks appear behind her.

San Zhe panted and then his eyes widened. "Oh My God! Sister Xiu!"

Though he screamed her name in concern, he did not put down the trident, waiting for Cheng Xiu to make a move. He did not believe that Cheng Xiu would go down that easily.

And he was right.

Cheng Xiu got up to her feet, the red glow in her eyes even more prominent.

"Sister Xiu?" San Zhe called in a small voice. "I'm sorry? Can you forget I did that?"

Though he shivered in fright, he did not lower his weapon.

Cheng Xiu let out a deranged laugh and then dashed towards him with her sword aimed at his heart.

"Water Bullet!" San Zhe screamed.

The inscription on his trident glowed and from the side spoke of the weapon came out water as though in was bullets from a machine gun.

Cheng Xiu jumped away from his attacks and raised her weapon up to attack him.

At that time, the floor under their feet rumbled and from the inner parts of the dungeon a tall rat came screaming.

Cheng Xiu was focused on San Zhe though.

San Zhe's eyes widened. He realised what had happened. By attacking Cheng Xiu with the trident, he seemed like a greater threat to her than the rat that came at her with a large hammer.

San Zhe squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, and then made a decisive action.

He put away the trident in his hand back into his storage ring.

It was a gamble.

It was hoping that Cheng Xiu would treat San Zhe as a none threat with the weapon that attacked her gone.

Cheng Xiu stared at him for a moment, and then leapt towards the hammer wielding Rat who was now the most threatening person in the space.

San Zhe let out a sigh of relief. It would seem that he had made the right decision.

"That was a big gamble," Yaksha commented.

San Zhe nodded, falling to his knees. That really was a gamble.

"Well done."

San Zhe blinked and then looked up at Yaksha. "Huh?"

"It is good that you were able to recognise that little Sela was not a match for you," Yaksha said. "If her subconsious thought you were a threat, she might have started to use Sword Dance on you."

San Zhe's eyes widened. "But…that…doen't that require her to be conscious?"

"Not necessarily," Yaksha said. "There are cases when the player just instinctively shouts out a skill name and the system does that work for them."

San Zhe nodded. "Right. I forgot about that."

Yaksha stared at him for a moment. "The talisman you used…"

San Zhe shrugged. "It is called Poseidon's Blessing. Allows me to use water skills."

"Where did you get that?" Yaksha asked. "That is a very rare talisman, right?"

San Zhe shook his head. "I made it. It is just a copy of a talisman that I had learnt from an NPC."

"Fate Witch Aqua," Yaksha said.

San Zhe looked at him in amazement. "How did you know that?"

"You have a Western Quest?" Yaksha asked instead.

San Zhe's face stiffened. "I…that…"

"From you reaction…you have the Chosen One Quest from the Western Continent?"

San Zhe gave him a hesitant nod. "That…please don't tell anyone I fell for the scam."

Yaksha raised an eyebrow. "Your name doesn't have the village name attached…"

San Zhe shrugged. "Mine is more about the God Poseidon than a village. As long as I reach Level 50, the quest is over."

There was a dull thud and the sound of blades clashing dissipated.

San Zhe started and then slowly turned towards the side.

Cheng Xiu had killed the fourth Bulky rat.

San Zhe let out a sigh. "Now what?"

Yaksha hmmed.

San Zhe finally realised something. "Did you find the rat witch, Lord Yaksha?"

"Yes."

San Zhe leaned forwards to learn more.

Yaksha kept silent.

San Zhe blinked behind his mask. "You are not going to explain, are you?"

"No."

"Why no-"

An unpleasant sound cut of his quesitioning.

Cheng Xiu dragged her sword on the floor, creating a screaching sound as she walked towards them.

San Zhe tensed, and started to raise to his feet.

Cheng Xiu stopped a few meters away from them, tilting her head to the side. The red glow in her eyes were not as bright as they were before.

San Zhe felt hope raise in his heart. "Sister Xiu? Are you back?"

Cheng Xiu just stared at them.

San Zhe was not sure what to do. "Why is she not attacking us?"

Yaksha looked at Cheng Xiu for a moment. He understood what was happening.

"So that was your plan?" Yaksha asked her.

San Zhe was curious. What plan?

The Qi in the room gathered around Cheng Xiu.

San Zhe backed away in fear.

Yaksha stepped towards her, raising his hand towards her. "I think that should be enough for what you want to do."

The Qi burst out, sending San Zhe back, hitting his back against the wall.

Yaksha's clothes and his long black her fluttered back, but he remained still.

The red haze in her eyes disappeared.

"Sorry," Cheng Xiu said to San Zhe.

The man looked at her in confusion.

"That was a big gamble," Yaksha scolded her.

"Thank you for trusting my judgement," Cheng Xiu said to him.

Yaksha looked away from her, avoiding the earnest phoenix eyes that she implored her with. "It was nothing."

San Zhe looked this way and that, between his two companions. "What? What is going on? Sister Xiu? Are you back? Is the fight over? What happened? What gamble?"

Cheng Xiu sighed.

She laid a hand on his shoulder, calming him down.

"Sister Xiu!" San Zhe said in happiness. "You are back!"

"Let me explain," she said to him in a soft voice.