Chapter 14: Windfire No Tears
As Windfire No Tears approached, Ye Hen did not remain idle. After killing over ten Lizard King leaders, he leveled up to Level 4.
It was at this moment that a group appeared in the distance. The formation seemed to consist of about seven or eight people, though it was difficult to make out their details due to the distance.
A few minutes later, the group got closer, and it turned out to be members of the Windfire Studio. Windfire No Tears led the way, with a tall, thin mage in green robes in front of him. The mage didn't have an outstanding appearance, but his gleaming eyes were impossible to ignore. In his hand, he wielded a pale yellow staff, the Yellow Sand Staff, a silver-grade item that could only be equipped by players above level 5. At this point, there were no more than twenty silver-grade items in the entire Ming Sha Town.
"He's here too?" Ye Hen was momentarily stunned. The person in question was none other than Windfire No Tears, the leader of the Windfire Studio. Ye Hen was surprised that a mere Lizard King leader could attract Windfire No Tears' attention.
"Brother Ye Hen, I'm Windfire No Tears from Windfire Studio. I've long admired your name," Windfire No Tears said as he stepped forward with cupped hands and a smile, speaking in a refined manner.
Ye Hen also smiled faintly and replied, "You can just call me Ye Hen. I've long heard of your name, Windfire No Tears. Sorry to trouble you all."
Hearing Ye Hen's calm yet polite response, Windfire No Tears was even more certain that his trip had not been in vain. He had already heard from Windfire No Tears about Ye Hen's strength—being able to kill six main members of the Blood Dance Studio as a level 1 player. He personally felt that he was far from Ye Hen's level. As a studio leader, he naturally wanted to recruit Ye Hen, though Ye Hen had declined. Nevertheless, establishing a good relationship with such a potential powerhouse was extremely important. Now that his conflict with the Blood Dance Studio had escalated, he needed to win this strong ally over.
Thinking this, Windfire No Tears' smile grew brighter as he issued a party invitation to Ye Hen. "Brother Ye Hen, come join our party. Where is the boss?"
Ye Hen immediately accepted the invitation, joining the party and pointing to a spot a hundred meters away. "It's over there."
"Alright, let's go, everyone!" Windfire No Tears shouted, and his party members immediately followed.
The party, including Ye Hen, had eight members—two warriors, two mages, two priests, and one archer. Except for Ye Hen, all were core members of Windfire Studio, and their equipment was impressive.
"I must be seeing things. When did you reach Level 4?" Windfire No Tears suddenly shouted. Party members could see each other's levels, and he had just realized that Ye Hen was already Level 4. To level up three times in just one day—Windfire No Tears was currently only Level 5, and even Windfire No Tears had just reached Level 6.
Upon hearing Windfire No Tears, the rest of the party erupted in surprise. They had already heard of the level 1 player who killed seven main members of the Blood Dance Studio, but since they had not seen it with their own eyes, they hadn't expected him to be this strong. Seeing Ye Hen's level now, they were even more shocked. Level 4 players were common in the game at this point, but to level up from 1 to 4 in just one day was remarkable.
"I was already Level 4, but I dropped to Level 1 after dying four times during a quest. Thankfully, my equipment didn't break, so my level's been rising fast," Ye Hen explained helplessly, fabricating a story to cover up.
"Brother Ye Hen, you should be the first to complete an A-class quest in the entire game, right? Truly impressive," Windfire No Tears said with admiration, already hearing about it from Windfire No Tears. Upon hearing it again, he was convinced.
"Just luck, haha..." Ye Hen smiled awkwardly, not daring to deny it. If people knew he was a reborn player, they'd definitely want to dissect him.
Luckily, the party had now arrived near the Lizard King leader, and the Windfire Studio members stopped talking and began to position themselves.
"Priests, cast buffs. Windfire No Tears, pull the boss. Goshawk, support Windfire No Tears. Everyone else, focus on damage," Windfire No Tears commanded expertly.
The priests began chanting a hymn, and soon, a faint light circle enveloped everyone in the party, increasing their attack and defense by 10%.
"That's a hymn!" Ye Hen was slightly surprised. Members of the studio were different; they even had rare buffing skills like this.
While he was thinking, Windfire No Tears had already pulled the Lizard King leader to the front of the party. He and another warrior, Goshawk, alternated pulling the boss's aggro.
"Ranged DPS, go," Windfire No Tears commanded.
Ye Hen activated Stealth and swiftly approached. Before the mage's Fireball hit, he thrust his dagger deep into the Lizard King leader's body, dealing -48 damage. The Lizard King leader had high physical defense.
Boom, boom!
Two Fireballs and an arrow hit the Lizard King leader accurately, dealing -30, -24, and -12 damage. The Lizard King leader had high physical defense, but low magical defense.
Seeing how high the damage from the Fireballs was, Ye Hen was quite surprised. It seemed that even low-level mages were powerful before Level 10. Before Level 10, all classes couldn't learn strong skills, as skill books were rare drops. Mages, who relied on group skills for damage, had a tough time at this stage.
A barrage of attacks hit the Lizard King leader, causing it to screech in pain. The aggro began to shift slightly.
Taunt!
Windfire No Tears timed his Taunt skill perfectly. It was a skill that all warriors could learn at Level 10 to attract the monster's attention, with a cooldown of 30 seconds.
Ye Hen immediately dealt several quick strikes, lowering the boss's health. With the Taunt active, the boss's aggro wouldn't shift for the next three seconds.
The Lizard King leader swung its heavy tail at Windfire No Tears, knocking him back several steps and dealing -150 damage, reducing his health by over half. Without the Shield Mastery skill before Level 10, warriors had a tough time tanking bosses solo.
At this moment, Goshawk's role as another tank came into play. He swung his giant axe at the Lizard King leader, drawing its aggro away from Windfire No Tears and buying him time to recover. The priest's basic healing spells quickly brought Windfire No Tears' health back to full.
To avoid drawing aggro from the boss, Ye Hen didn't unleash his full potential, only occasionally landing a quick stab to whittle the boss's health. Assassins were in a bit of an awkward position during boss fights; they couldn't deal as much damage as other classes and couldn't tank the boss's hits. However, they had the strongest survival ability in the wild and were popular with solo players.
"Priests, remember to rotate your water potions to restore MP, conserve your mana," Windfire No Tears reminded while casting another Fireball.
At the game's early stages, instant-recovery potions were extremely expensive. Even if players had them, studio leaders were reluctant to use them unless absolutely necessary. Fortunately, the party members were seasoned veterans, and the fight was progressing smoothly. The boss's health was now down to 50%.
"Roar!" The Lizard King leader let out an enraged roar, suddenly throwing its head back and knocking Windfire No Tears aside. It then swung its heavy tail, sending Goshawk flying, and charged toward the party's mages.
The Lizard King leader moved with surprising speed, reaching the front of the mages in just a few seconds. The sight of its massive, gaping mouth made the mages panic. If they got bitten, it would be a one-hit kill for any cloth-wearing class.
TL Note:
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