VRMMORPG: The Other World Online

Cheng Xiu looked towards the Rat Counsellor who was climbing the wall after that.

She released her sword from its sheath.

Just as she was about to step forward, a trident blocked her path.

Cheng Xiu frowned and turned to San Zhe. "Yes?"

"That…" San Zhe looked around, not meeting her eyes. "I…that is my prey."

Cheng Xiu blinked. "Yours? Did we have some kind of an arrangement where you would fight one Rat and I will fight the other?"

San Zhe nodded. "The both of us are doing the same Quest, and we have the same targets, so we kind of decided that we would one each…it wasn't said in those exact words but that was the intent behind it."

Cheng Xiu blinked. She wasn't surprised that much that they had that kind of an arrangement. After all, everyone had to pull their weight in a Quest. She was not going to pull the entire responsibility all onto herself.

She stopped doing that a long time back. She no longer trusted anyone to not stab her in the back in these games. Betrayal could be said to be a part of these kinds of game. The more popular the game is, the more likely people are to betray you.

San Zhe looked at her expectantly.

Cheng Xiu nodded. "That's fair. Please go ahead."

San Zhe was surprised that she gave in so quickly. But then he thought of the fact that they did not really know each other from her perspective. It made sense that she would not be as anxious about him as she was before.

San Zhe sighed. It was weird to think that Cheng Xiu not fussing over him was making him miss her already.

Cheng Xiu pointed to Yaksha. "Brother San, just now you said the two of us. Then what about this guy?"

San Zhe shivered. She just called the expert "This guy" and pointed at him. So disrespectful!

Cheng Xiu seemed to realise the error that she just committed and apologied to Yaksha profusely.

He waved her words off. He had never cared about such matters in the game. Here, he was supposed to be just a player and he did not mind the fact that she used that kind of words.

After exchanging a few more words, San Zhe walked towards the climbing Rat again.

He raised the trident in his hand and began to attack the rat again.

The rat sent jets of water at him, sending him flying.

He approached the creature again and was once again attacked against.

He got up and approached the creature again.

Cheng Xiu frowned. What was he doing? Why was he trying the same method again and again when it was proven that he could not defeat the creature by that method?

Cheng Xiu observed some more. She wanted to see if there was something that he was trying to achieve by doing this repeated action.

It took her a long time before she actually saw what he was trying to do. Though he kept approaching the creature, he did it differently every time.

It wasn't obvious at first glance of course, but it was there for all to see. His stabs were more precise and he actually started to decrease the distance between himself and the rat each time he got up.

Cheng Xiu realised that he was using this as an opportunity to improve his movement skills.

His reaction speeds were faster, and he seemed to predict his enemy's attack ranges faster.

Cheng Xiu observed that the Rat creature was very specific about the amount of attacks that it did on the opponent. As long as the range was within five feet apart, the creature would attack.

She wondered if he had tried to throw the trident instead of just stabbing at the creature so blindly.

Almost like he could hear her thoughts, San Zhe threw the trident at the creature.

The second it reached five feet of the wall, the Rat monster released another jet of water.

The Fork and the other objects had long hidden behind Cheng Xiu when the first jet of water was splashed.

"This one is weak," the Fork complained, "Can't even fight water. Talentless Human cultivators."

"If you are so capable," Cheng Xiu said to the Fork, "Then go and fight. Go show the talentless human cultivators what you are capable of."

The Fork kept quiet after that.

San Zhe looked at the creature in front of him with a considering look and took out a bright red talisman.

Cheng Xiu was curious about it. In her understanding, Red in game items made them unique or special.

San Zhe picked up the trident that was thrown away to the other side of the room by the jet of water and pasted the Talisman onto the handle of the weapon.

Cheng Xiu was curious about it.

The talisman caught fire and burst into flames.

The spikes of the trident each carried a flame at the moment. A crystal that was deep maroon in color decorated the handle.

"Not much of a practical design," she commented. The grip would be difficult and there was the added weight.

"Each stone stores Fire Qi in it," Yaksha said to her. "Every time that he activates a stone, a jet of fire will be released from it."

Cheng Xiu pointed to the Rat creature with a tilt of her head. "That is a Water based monster. Water beats fire. What is he thinking about to do this?"

Yaksha shrugged. He did not know this San Zhe person. How would he be able to tell those kind of things?

"It depends on the type of flame that San Zhe had stored in the trident."

Cheng Xiu frowned. "What do you mean by that? The type that Brother San had stored?"

"The Talisman is called as 'Elemental confinement.' The user decides the Element that they want to confine. Fire, water, wind, and even lava is a possibility."

Cheng Xiu was impressed by that. She had not realised that there were talismans like those as well.

San Zhe started to attack the rat in earnest.

The beast tried to scurry away but had to fend itself against the flames that were about to kill it.

Cheng Xiu was surprised by how precise San Zhe's movements were as he attacked.

"Now that I think about it," Cheng Xiu said to Yaksha, "These talismans are so versatile. Why isn't everyone yammering to be a part of it?"

"Because it is difficult," Yaksha answered. "And there is also the fact that you need some one to teach you."

"Difficult?"

Yaksha nodded. "There are skills that the system gives the players and then there are those that the players have to learn the ins and outs of by themselves. And Talisman creation is one of those skills that the system does not allow just anyone to learn. It is why the Immortal named Crow is so popular in the game world. He passed the grueling tests that comes with being a Talisman creator. And Crow is still learning things himself."

"You know a lot about those experts."

"Everhill talks non-stop. There is no escaping when he turns into a mother hen mode."

Cheng Xiu smiled behind her mask.

"I hadn't realised I was fighting such great masters of the game!"

Yaksha shrugged. "Those ten are not elites. They are just a bunch of buffoons who think that they are at the top of the food chain without even waiting to see if they even have food."

Cheng Xiu sighed. "But they are still experts to me."

"No," Yaksha said, dissatisfaction was written clearly in his eyes, though his voice was mild. "They are really not. But yes, they are more powerful than you because they are at the Level 60 to 70 range and you don't seem to be even level 10."

"So the skills are highly costly and hard to learn. Can you really blame the player base for it?"

Yaksha shrugged. "Most players are not under my jurisdiction so I am not aware of those kind of attitudes. But no, the talismans can be learnt by anyone and there are always people who would try the skills out and then throw it away."

Cheng Xiu gave those words some thought. "Then this class of skills are really free. If there was a way to make money with it, then it would have worked better then."

Yaksha was not sure what she meant.

"People look at free skills as something that the game made to entertain people," Cheng Xiu explained her thoughts, "It is something that people think that everyone has access to so it must not be good or useful. If it was something that people had to buy, they would have worked harder. Simple as that."

"Where do you get that kind of thoughts from?"

"I am also someone with that kind of thinking disability at times."

***

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