I was startled and immediately grabbed Diana's arm, pulling her quickly to a corner of the third level's inner wall. A protruding rock conveniently concealed our presence.
Diana blinked and leaned against my arm, instantly sending a warm sensation through it. I looked down and realized that in her haste, Diana had pressed her proud bosom against my arm without noticing.
My heart began to race uncontrollably. Diana seemed to sense something unusual and softly chuckled, "Are you nervous?"
I nodded with difficulty. Of course I was nervous! Any man would feel dizzy with desire with such a beautiful woman so close.
Diana looked up at me, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
Just then, voices drifted up from the second level: "Huh? There are a bunch of monster corpses here. Has someone already been through?"
Another voice responded, "Never mind. Let's go down and check. It would be great if we could get straight to level 5 and complete the quest!"
My heart sank. This was bad - someone else had taken on the same quest as us!
Diana and I exchanged worried glances.
In less than half a minute, three figures appeared on the third level. Diana and I were shocked once again!
These three players all had "Warsoul" prefixes and were formidable opponents: Warsoul Trueman, level 29 Berserker; Warsoul Casanova, level 28 Mage; and Warsoul Ironwing, level 30 Mage!
All three were famous on the American server's leaderboard, ranked second, fourth, and fifth respectively. Diana held the top spot at level 32, while I was third at level 29.
By sheer coincidence, the top five players in America had gathered in this small Phantom Cavern!
The Warsoul guild was renowned, dominating various online games and recognized as the kings of gaming in America. These three were clearly part of Warsoul's leadership.
Warsoul Casanova looked around suspiciously, "There are more monster corpses here, but where are the players? Did they teleport back to town?"
Warsoul Trueman laughed heartily and called out, "Friends inside, why don't you come out?"
Diana and I exchanged glances. How did he guess there were people here?
We had no choice but to reveal ourselves. I stepped out cautiously, avoiding the monsters' line of sight. Diana followed behind me, gracefully emerging with her staff in hand.
When Warsoul Trueman saw me, he let out a surprised "Oh!" and smiled, "So it's Frivolous Scholar, the third-ranked expert!"
But when Diana appeared beside me, the Warsoul members truly trembled in shock, exclaiming, "It's... Breeze Embracing Moon!"
Diana wore a fiery red dress that swayed gently, accentuating her beauty. Her delicate face and slender white neck highlighted her exquisite features, while her alluring figure was subtly visible beneath the dress. Her ample bosom strained against the fabric, and her shapely hips were enough to make one's mouth go dry.
For a moment, everyone was stunned. Warsoul Casanova's eyes gleamed as he swallowed hard, "So beautiful... Breeze Embracing Moon is so beautiful..."
Warsoul Trueman quickly coughed and said, "Number Two, mind your manners. Show some composure. Look at you, getting all flustered at the sight of a beautiful woman!"
Warsoul Casanova immediately averted his gaze and smiled, "I never expected to encounter the famous Breeze Embracing Moon here. Now that I've seen her, she truly is a stunning beauty!"
Diana let out a soft snort, apparently used to such advances, and remained silent.
Warsoul Casanova looked slightly embarrassed. Warsoul Trueman then said, "You're here for the same quest, right? Why don't we team up? We can't see the levels of the monsters here, so forming a party would benefit everyone!"
Diana wasn't interested, "I have my own companion. We don't need to add more people to our group."
As she spoke, Diana wrapped her arm around mine affectionately.
As expected, a flash of jealousy appeared in Warsoul Casanova's eyes, though it quickly vanished.
"Hmph, how ungrateful!" Warsoul Ironwing, who had been silent until now, suddenly grunted.
I immediately retorted angrily, "Watch your mouth, mage. Remember, loose lips sink ships!"
Warsoul Ironwing raised his eyebrows and shouted, "You think you're so great just because your levels are high? Let me tell you, I've never cared about people like you!"
Diana immediately raised her staff, fuming, "If you want to fight, then let's get on with it! Stop wasting time with idle chatter!"
Warsoul Trueman chuckled and took a few steps forward, seemingly casually, with his battle axe in hand.
I was slightly alarmed. Damn, was the Berserker trying to get close before attacking?
Faced with three top-ranked experts, I wasn't arrogant enough to let them make the first move. So, before they could act, I had already fired off an Armor-Breaking Arrow!
With a loud "Bang!", the milky-white arrow struck Warsoul Trueman squarely in the chest!
"872!"
The number appeared above Warsoul Trueman's head, but it was clear that this elite Berserker already had nearly 2,000 hit points. My attack had only taken away less than half of his health!
"Whoosh!"
With a soft sound, Diana's fireball had already flown out, hitting Warsoul Trueman directly in the chest, instantly dealing another 642 points of damage. In an instant, Warsoul Trueman's health bar had been reduced to a sliver!
Obviously, our powerful attacks had caught Warsoul Trueman off guard. He hadn't expected our damage output to be this high!
The Warsoul members were no amateurs. Without hesitation, Warsoul Trueman stepped forward, raising his giant axe and unleashing a Earth-Splitting Slash. I saw a flash of fire and felt a sharp pain in my chest. I was knocked backwards, and when I looked at my health bar, I was shocked to see that over 800 points had been taken away. I was on the verge of death!
Warsoul Trueman seemed even more surprised than I was, probably astonished that his attack hadn't instantly killed me!
The two mages, Warsoul Ironwing and Warsoul Casanova, weren't idle either. Two fireballs flew straight towards Diana, aiming to suppress the number one female mage in Ethereal Surge and deny her any chance to retaliate!
Diana's Flame Shield shook violently, and her health instantly dropped to half!
I suddenly retreated quickly in the opposite direction, escaping the range of Warsoul Trueman's giant axe. At the same time, I raised my bow and fired an arrow, targeting the level 28 mage, Warsoul Casanova!
As if in perfect sync, Diana also threw out a fireball, aiming at the same target!
With two loud "Bangs!", Warsoul Casanova had no time to dodge. Two numbers floated above his head in quick succession: "546" "678"!
A flash of white light appeared, and with a miserable cry, Warsoul Casanova exploded into a pile of potions and teleported back to town!
At the same time, Diana's name turned bright red - she was now flagged for PvP!
Warsoul Trueman was furious, "Kill Breeze Embracing Moon!"
Diana remained calm, taking two steps back to move out of the enemy mage's range. She quickly conjured an Ice Arrow, striking Warsoul Trueman's shoulder. Instantly, Warsoul Trueman was covered in a layer of frost, his movement speed greatly reduced!
Taking advantage of this precious opportunity, I quickly gulped down a 500-point health potion to recover. I charged towards Warsoul Ironwing, my Golden Bow somehow already replaced by the Waveblade Dagger!
Warsoul Ironwing was slightly shocked, clearly recognizing the formidable attack power of the Rippling Dagger. He immediately retreated, flying back to the second level, shouting, "Boss! Be careful!"
Watching Warsoul Ironwing flee, I immediately gave him the middle finger. So much for being an expert!
Meanwhile, Diana had been cornered and was forced to use her Flame Shield to block an axe strike from Warsoul Trueman. Even so, she lost most of her health. The shield had absorbed at least 70% of the attack damage, showing just how terrifyingly powerful Warsoul Trueman's attacks were!
"Whoosh!"
A blue light enveloped Warsoul Trueman as my Ice Arrow instantly slowed him down. Diana finally got a breather and quickly reversed direction, passing by Warsoul Titan and running to my side!
At that moment, we heard a voice from behind: "It's these two! Help me take them down, and I'll pay you 100 gold coins!"
I immediately cursed silently. It was Warsoul Ironwing's voice. Had that bastard hired assassins?
The wind suddenly picked up, and a blazing fireball flew towards Diana, cast by Warsoul Ironwing!
I became extremely anxious. Diana's Flame Shield hadn't recharged yet, and her health was slowly recovering but still less than half. She definitely couldn't withstand an attack from Warsoul Ironwing!
As I moved to block Diana, I realized the fireball had passed through the gap under my arm, hurtling towards her body!
Just as Diana was about to die, she let out a frightened cry. But suddenly, a holy light shone, and Diana's health instantly filled up!
Heal! A mid-level cleric's Heal spell!
Warsoul Ironwing's fireball failed to claim Diana's life, and she narrowly escaped danger, once again raising her Flame Shield!
I looked up, my heart skipping a beat. The beautiful cleric who had saved Diana was none other than Violet!
And beside Violet stood several others - clearly Dragonsoul, Titan, and Ghostflame from the Swordfire guild!
Violet gave me a small smile but didn't speak.
Warsoul Ironwing, however, cursed furiously, "Fuck! What the hell? I said to kill them, why did you use a healing spell?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of flame erupted. Titan had raised his battle axe high and brought it crashing down!
"Boom!"
With a Earth-Splitting Strike, Warsoul Ironwing's body was instantly torn apart, immediately turning into a white light as he teleported back to town!
Titan rubbed his nose and grinned, "Kid, didn't you know that Scholar is our brother?"