Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 227 Bon Voyage (Part 1)

The effect of the Cloudy Grass was miraculous. Ha’er who was at the brink of death was immediately revitalized.

He began cursing at the Lesser Demons as he pranced back and forth in front of Ye Ci. It was apparent that the Dwarf has been here for years, and he was not fond of the cave’s natives.

“These damned Lesser Demons! These lowlives! I hate them!” shouted Ha’er as he waved his hands around. Faint shimmer trailed behind the Dwarf’s pickaxe as it sailed across the air. It was obvious that the pickaxe was a high level item. As Ye Ci was not a miner, she held no interest towards the pickaxe.

“My dear Elven friend, my map was snatched away from me by those damned Lesser Demons. Can you get it back for me?”

As expected, here comes the quest.

“Of course I can.” Ye Ci stood up. This quest was exactly what she has been waiting for.

“Then hurry up! Those bastards might mistake my map as food and eat it!” Ha’er waved his pickaxe in anger.

“Understood.”

“They went into the abandoned mine in the north. Be careful. They might be dumb, but those Lesser Demons are pretty strong.” said Ha’er as he handed a package to Ye Ci, “I’ve been here for years. I know what their favourite food is. I hope this helps.”

Ye Ci inspected the package, and found 20 pieces of dried wolf meat. The meat was laced with poison that was intended for the Lesser Demons.

“Thank you. I shall return with good news.” said Ye Ci as she stored the package into her inventory. She then summoned Ol’ Four and headed straight to the abandoned mines.

Ha’er, who was left behind, could only offer a silent prayer, “Oh, Great Ancestors, please watch over my friend.”

The Lesser Demons in the plains were considerable weaker than the ones on the Black Wind Mountain. Despite that, their magical damage was a nuisance for Ye Ci, who was a Huntress with very low Magical Resistance. If she attracted the aggro of too many of those Lesser Demons, she would be torn to shreds.

The Lesser Demon population were scattered along the way, but when Ye Ci finally arrived at the abandoned mine, she was shocked to find a huge concentration of Lesser Demons at the shaft of the mine.

It would be a waste of time for Ye Ci to kite them one by one. In a situation like this, employing high damage AOE skills like Rain of Arrows and Multi Arrows are her best option.

A sea of damage values floated up from the shaft as the Lesser Demons let out painful screeches. They began charging at Ye Ci, who summoned Ol’ Four and directed it at the Lesser Demons that were closest to her. She then began to lead the Lesser Demons out of the shaft, and began running at the flat plains with an “S” shaped maneuver. Despite their level, the Lesser Demons did not possess a high level of intelligence. They were led on by Ye Ci as she began picking them off.

There was a certain risk for Ye Ci as she performed such a maneuver. As she turned in a round curve, she could easily be caught up by the melee-type Lesser Demons. However, such maneuver would allow Ye Ci to dodge the ranged attacks that were going her way. The lower leveled monsters in Fate could only launch fire-and-forget spells, which travel at a straight trajectory, at their opponent. Such attacks lack the capability of homing onto a target. As long as Ye Ci was careful, she could easily avoid all the spells.

This was why Ye Ci was confident in her ability to slowly kite the horde of Lesser Demons.

If the Lesser Demons had higher levels, Ye Ci would be forced to employ a different approach. With things as they were, as long as Ye Ci was able to control her tempo as she kited the huge mob of Lesser Demons, she would be able to avoid damage.

Before long, she was able to slay a huge number of Lesser Demons with her AOE skills. It was a shame that she was already at the max level at the current stage of the game, or this would be the perfect opportunity to level up.

Ye Ci was able to obtain a lot of loots from the Lesser Demons. Of course, while a Purple item drop was impossible, there was a huge number of Blue and Green quality items among the loot. In the current stage of the game, guilds that were able to form dungeon exploration parties were in the minority, and players who could afford to hire a sponsored dungeon clearing were few and far between. The Blue and Green items could fetch a high price in the Auction House.

She then headed back to the abandoned mine after putting away all the items.

Despite Ye Ci’s efforts, there was still a significant number of Lesser Demons in the Abandoned Mind. She was unable to locate the quest item among the loots dropped by the dead Lesser Demons. This meant that the map that she was looking for was on a specific Lesser Demon. There must be an Elite hidden among the mob of Lesser Demons that were still in the abandoned mine.

Ol’ Four was still left in the shaft. Even if it was an Epic-tier monster, the Lesser Demons could still overwhelm Ol’ Four with their sheer numbers. It would not last long without any aid from Ye Ci.

Empowered Cheetah Protection!

After activating the ability that increased her movement speed by 50%, Ye Ci headed straight to the mine shaft.

She then activated Hunter Protection before jumping into the mine shaft. Ol’ Four, who was near death, was engaged in a bitter melee against 5 Lesser Demons. Ye Ci immediately cast Pet Healing on Ol’ Four.

It seems that the combat strength of the Lesser Demons is not something that should be underestimated. Even without the presence of the Elite monster, Ol’ Four was having a hard time fending off the Lesser Demons. As a pet that was resilient against physical damage, Ol’ Four was still somewhat vulnerable against magical damage.

Ol’ Four turned around and saw Ye Ci who landed at the base of the shaft after noticing the sudden increase of its HP. It let out an excited roar and immediately attacking the Lesser Demons with renewed vigor.

With the monsters focused on Ol’ Four, it was easy for Ye Ci to deal with the Lesser Demons that were near their death.

She finally had the chance to sit on the ground and began replenishing her hitpoints and stamina. Even as she gobbled down her food, Ye Ci was kept a vigil on her surroundings. Other than a few stragglers and a dozen or so Lesser Demons at the heart of the mine shaft, she has managed to take out most of the Lesser Demon population.

Something’s up with those Lesser Demons. I’ve definitely hit them with my Rain of Arrows, and some of them even came after me. Why would there still be Lesser Demons around that area? After a moment of thought, Ye Ci finally reached a conclusion: the Lesser Demon turned back halfway through their pursuit.

After her moment’s of rest, Ye Ci began picking off the stragglers with the help of Ol’ Four, and approached the small group of Lesser Demons. They were packed so tightly together that drawing aggro from one of the Lesser Demons would trigger the rest of its kind. However, Ye Ci knew that something must be done. She fired an arrow at one of the Lesser Demons, and the dozen of them began charging at her.

Ye Ci reaped away half of their hitpoints with a Rain of Arrows, and kited the Lesser Demons around the mine shaft. There was a nudging feeling that she was being watched as she battled the Lesser Demons.

The process of kiting the Lesser Demons was easier with Ol’ Four around, and Ye Ci was able to dispatch her opponents within 2 minutes.

The mine shaft was eerily quiet after the battle. After looting the corpses, the map was still nowhere in sight.

According to the quest description, the map was in one of the Lesser Demons in the Northern Mine Shaft! It must be here somewhere! Ye Ci studied her surroundings. The mine shaft that was full of Lesser Demons was already empty. There was not a single monster or any other object around. Is there something wrong with the hint provided by the quest? Am I in the wrong place?

Ye Ci called out the quest window, and began reading the details of her quest while studying her map. She was indeed in the right place. So... Where’s the map?

A sudden realization struck Ye Ci. She raised her bow, and fired a flare at the previous location of the Lesser Demon horde. The ball of flame traced a beautiful arc in the air before landing on the ground. Bright light immediately illuminated the dark mine shaft, and Ye Ci could see a Lesser Demon in the deepest part of the mine shaft. With its long horns and its size that was way larger than any other Lesser Demons, it was obvious that the Lesser Demon was no ordinary monster.

As expected, there’s one of them left.

Without pause, Ye Ci cast Empowered Hunter’s Mark on the Lesser Demon, and sent Ol’ Four against the Lesser Demon. She then began planting traps, setting up the battlefield.

From the perspective of an outsider, the positioning of Ye Ci’s trap was horrible. However, a veteran would never share the same opinion. The traps appeared to be placed in a disorderly mess, but a Hunter with combat experience could tell that they were actually very well placed. The traps were 15 yards away from one another, which meant that their area of effect was not overlapping. A trap that was triggered would not trigger the traps around it.

Ye Ci cast Pet Healing on Ol’ Four after setting up her traps. She then gulped down a bottle of Greater Damage Potion and rushed at the Lesser Demon.

Lesser Demon Centurion (Elite)

Level: 55

HP: 150,000

The Lesser Demon Centurion’s HP was nothing compared to a Field BOSS, but it came with two troublesome abilities: Ring of Fire and Devil’s Whip.

Just like a Sorcerer’s Ring of Fire, the Lesser Demon Centurion’s Ring of Fire could push players around it away. The Centurion’s Ring of Fire, however, was way stronger. A Sorcerer was unable to push targets that are of higher level away with the skill, while the Lesser Demon Centurion’s skill was not affected by level penalty. Even Ol’ Four that was 2 levels higher than the Lesser Demon Centurion was pushed away by the Ring of Fire. The Lesser Demon Centurion would then follow up with its Devil’s Whip once Ol’ Four was pushed away.

With each crack of its whip, the Lesser Demon Centurion set its surroundings aflame. With the sea of flames surrounding the Lesser Demon Centurion, Ye Ci and Ol’ Four were not able to close in on their opponent.

However, as a Huntress, Ye Ci was a ranged damage dealer. Even if she was pushed away, she could still dish out significant amount of damage as long as the Lesser Demon Centurion was within her attack range. It was not a fun experience for Ye Ci to have a demon in hot pursuit behind her, cracking its whip as it gave chase. She did not bring any Flame Resistant Potion along in this trip. If she was hit with an attack, the burning effect would still drain away a huge portion of her health even if it was not able to take away her life right away. After all, the Lesser Demon Centurion was an Elite Monster. Even if it was not as strong the a BOSS, the creature was still a tough opponent.

Despite that, the Lesser Demon Centurion lacked intelligence. Ye Ci was able to lead the monster right to her traps. The Lesser Demon Centurion stepped on an Icy Trap, and its body was instantly covered in a glowing shade of blue, which was an indicator that its movement speed and attack speed were reduced by 80%. Ye Ci seized the opening, and landed attacks after attacks on the Lesser Demon Centurion, while leading it to a nearby Frost Trap.

A Frost trap would freeze a target into a big icy block. Once the target was attack, the ice will shatter, and the target would be able to regain its movements.

The Frost Trap was used by Hunters to keep a distance with their opponents to regain the upper hand in a battle. However, Ye Ci had a totally different intention. If a target that was afflicted by Frost Trap was not attacked within 8 seconds, the ice would melt, and the target would suffer from a Chill debuff for a duration of 5 seconds.

Chill: Reduce enemy Frost Resistance by 50%, ice-type magic will have a 5% chance of dealing lethal damage to target.

The debuff was next to useless to Hunters as they deal physical damage. However, if a Hunter was armed with weapons or arrows that deal ice elemental damage, it was a boon. The Lesser Demons do not have good resistance towards ice. With the Lesser Demon Centurion’s Frost Resistance reduced by 50%, it was vulnerable to Ye Ci’s Frost Arrows.

One would say that 5 seconds was a short amount of time. But one could also accomplish many things within a 5-second window.

For Ye Ci, she could perform a combo that was able to take away a huge chunk of the Lessern Demon Centurion’s HP.

It was apparent that Ye Ci’s strategy worked. Despite suffering from Ye Ci’s simple trick, the Lesser Demon Centurion did not learn from its lesson. It suffered again and again from Ye Ci’s Icy Trap and Frost trap. Before long, the Lesser Demon Centurion laid dead on the groun with all its HP depleted.

The battle between Ye Ci and the monster was a dull one. There was no need for her to put too much of an effort in getting a map. To her, the 15 minutes she spent to bring down the Lesser Demon Centurion was a waste of time. With the Lesser Demons respawning, Ye Ci had to fight through a number of enemies before she could reach the corpse of the Lesser Demon Centurion, which yielded 2 items as loots: A map and a skillbook.

The map would naturally be her quest item. But what about the skillbook?

Ye Ci was shocked when she saw the name of the skillbook. It was Mass Healing! And one that was used by the Priest class at that!

Hiya minna-san! Here’s an awesome chapter of the awesomesauce translated by an awesomtacular translator(whic is me, by the way)! Enjoy!!!

I’ve been thinking though... Since I’m free af these days because of my semester break... Maybe I can stream myself translating of chapters on perhaps youtube or twitch? What do you people think? I’ll be streaming at around 1pm or 2pm GMT+8 for maybe 2 hours or probably until I complete either part of a chapter!

What do you guys think? Leave a comment below if you want to see me stream my translation process! I’ll then decide if I should stream it based on your responses!

Aaaaand don’t forget that we have a teaser next page! First in the comments type: FIRST BLOOD!

Chapter 227 Bon Voyage (Part 2)

In Fate, only Clerics, Priests, and Druids were capable of healing, with the Cleric being the best among the 3 classes with its mass healing and sustained healing abilities. However, when it came to single target healing spells, the Priest was more capable than its counterparts. Despite its shortcomings when it came to mass healing, the Priest class was equipped with many abilities to dispel debuffs, and could deal massive damage to Undead enemies. This placed the Priest in an important role in party when it came to removing debuffs. A Priest’s healing spell would only be utilized in very specific situations. The Druid, on the other hand, was the most balanced among the 3 classes. It could be said as the jack of all trades. The Druid was a class that could easily be learned but was hard to master. It was even harder to be an expert.

The Priest class is not totally devoid of mass healing spells, but such skillbooks was very rare at the lvl60 stage of the game, and would only be dropped by BOSSes that were above lvl70 with a very low drop rate. To make matters worse, the trainer NPCs for the Priest class were few and far between.

We’ve talked about the drop rate.

We all know that when an item has a 1% drop rate, it does not necessary mean that the item will drop after the 100th time.

Ye Ci was bewildered. Did I mistook it for a Cleric skillbook instead? She rubbed her eyes and stared at the skillbook. She was not mistaken. It was a skillbook of the Priest class.

God must be sleeping! thought Ye Ci to herself. She could not believe her good luck.

How much can I sell this skillbook for? Ye Ci could not even begin the price the skillbook would fetch her. It was definitely not affordable by the a normal player, but when it came to the major guilds... A Priest with Mass Healing and strong single target heal spells is an overpowered existence.

The reward was indeed worthy of the time and energy spent by Ye Ci.

With the map safely in her inventory, Ye Ci made her way to Ha’er. She did not want to spend a single second longer in the mine shaft. The only thing in her mind was to complete her quest with the Black Iron Dwarves and unlock the Mithril ore vein. The process was taking too long. If things continued to drag on, even Ye Ci would lose interest.

“Hahaha! My dear Elven friend, you’re a good friend! I knew you’d make it!” Ha’er was overjoyed to receive the map. He began comparing the map with his surroundings, trying his best to locate the Mithirl ore vein.

Ye Ci, with her patience exhausted, finally spoke up, “Mister Ha’ar, I think Miss Jasmine is still waiting for news from us. What should I tell her?”

It was obvious that Ha’er was someone with best memories. Ye Ci’s words brought sudden realisation to Ha’er. He handed his pickaxe to Ye Ci after a brief explanation, and sent her on her way to Jasmine.

Jasmine was excited when she saw the pickaxe, and her excitement rubbed off on Dudu as well. After a short discussion, Ye Ci led the dwarves in a 3 hours journey to Da’er’s camp site. The dwarves then spent a full hour in celebration before finally setting out to look for the ore vein.

Due to their relationship with Ye Ci, the dwarves allowed Ye Ci to tag along on their search for the ore vein. It was already midnight in-game as they set out in search for the ore vein. The moon was barely visible in the Lesser Demon Sanctuary, but Ye Ci was in glee. Did the Golden Age player felt the same thing when he discovered the Mithril ore vein back then?

However, there was one thing that Ye Ci was sure of: the player who discovered the ore vein did not know that his discovery would bring turmoil to Fate in the future.

But how about now? How about this life? Will the effects brought by the coming of Golden Age change because of my reincarnation? it was a question that Ye Ci was worried of. Then again, it was meaningless to ponder upon such a question.

One must not waste energy thinking about something that one could not foresee.

Ha’er, Jasmine, and Dudu began their long process of probing for the Mithril ore vein. It would take 10 days in real life before the Dwarves would be able to complete the process. It seems that mining for Mithril, a material that could allow players to control the future of Fate, was not a simple task at all. Ye Ci found the following words in her quest description: “The Black Iron Dwarves are searching for the Mithril ore vein, please be patient. You can pay them a visit once the process is complete. It is a long and slow process, perhaps the Dwarves do not wish to be disturbed.”

There was nothing else written in the description. This meant that the Dwarves did not require Ye Ci’s protection during the process, which also meant that there was no need for Ye Ci to remain in the place for 10 days. She then made the decision to log out of the game. After all, she had received multiple notifications from her gaming cabin. She did not have the chance to go offline as she was busy with the quest.

Ye Ci walked into Zuo Xiaolan who as she walked out of her room after going offline. “You’re finally willing to logout? I’ve been trying to get you to eat dinner!” said Zuo Xiaolan who creased her eyebrows.

“I had a quest.” replied Ye Ci as she stretched her body. Even if it was not physically taxing to play Fate, the game could be mentally exhausting, “You made so much of a hassle just to get me to eat dinner?”

“Yup. And Bai Mo wants to talk to you about something.” said Zuo Xiaolan as she headed for her bedroom, “Go, eat up. Bai Mo’s waiting for you at the balcony. Your dad and I are going to sleep now. You should go to bed too after your meal.”

“Alright.” Ye Ci gave her mother a nod and limped into the kitchen to heat up the dishes.

“I’ll do it. You take a seat.” Bai Mo followed Ye Ci into the kitchen. He led Ye Ci to one of the chairs after setting up the table.

The scenery on the balcony was perfect. The moon was shining down with its full bloom, flooding the balcony with its silvery glow.

“You’ve got something that you want to say to me?” Ye Ci could feel her stomach rumbling with hunger. Hunger was something that she was unable to stand. She barely ate due to the long hours spent on completing the quest, and was extremely hungry at that very moment.

Bai Mo gazed at Ye Ci without answering, and offered his own question with a smile instead, “What have you been up to today? I did not see you around.”

“I came across an ore vein.” Ye Ci did not keep the secret from Bai Mo, “A Mithril ore vein.”

“Nani?” Bai Mo was shocked by Ye Ci’s revelation. Disbelief was written all over his face as he stared at Ye Ci. It was something that he did not expect. He then looked up into the sky, then at Ye Ci, before looking up into the night sky again and finally settling his gaze on Ye Ci, “Did I hear what you said correctly? Get out of here! A Mithril ore vein?”

“Yup. That is correct.” said Ye Ci as she took another bite of her food. She smiled as she noticed the shocked expression on Bai Mo’s face.

“Mithril? As in the Mithril we were talking to me about earlier? As in M-i-t-h-r-i-l?” Bai Mo could still not bring himself to believe Ye Ci’s words. Of course, he was not the one to be blamed. Anybody else would have doubted the information that Ye Ci had just revealed.

“Yes. Exactly!” Ye Ci rolled her eyes, “It’s exactly the rare material that we were talking about earlier!”

“How did you find it?”

Ye Ci recited her adventures to Bai Mo with a smile on her face. Of course, told Bai Mo that it was a totally unintentional discovery as she wandered around the map.

“Look at you! Everybody was saying that you have bad luck, and judging from the loot drops during out dungeon explorations, you are indeed and unlucky person. Then again, if you’re truly unlucky, why do you keep running into good things? An Epic-tier quest, an Epic-tier pet, and even the Mithril ore vein.” Bai Mo rubbed his chin and studied Ye Ci with a surprised expression, “Are you... Some sort of transmigrator?” the words left Bai Mo’s mouth without warning.

“Cough cough cough.” Ye Ci almost choked on the rice. She coughed violently as her face turned into a shade of red. Bai Mo was not far off the mark by calling her a transmigrator. There’s really not much of a difference between a transmigrator and a reincarnator anyways. Of course, it was something that Ye Ci could not admit. “Bai Mo, you’re a man with high academical qualifications, how could you say something that even a 5 year old would not believe?” said Ye Ci with a rigid smile.

Bai Mo shrugged at Ye Ci. A figure entered the living room before he could respond. It was Tan Polang. “Aiya! You’re eating supper? Wait up, I want some too!” said Tan Polang with glee clear in his voice as he spotted Ye Ci and Bai Mo, and the plates of dishes on the dining table.

He then ran into the kitchen and came rushing back into the living room with a bowl full of rice.

“Eh? You haven’t had your dinner as well?” Ye Ci stared at Tan Polang incredulously.

“Do you think that I’m like you? I was hungry after my study session. I’m going to sleep after this.” said Tan Polang as he sat down by the table. “How’s your leg doing?” asked the youth as he cast a glance at Ye Ci’s leg.

“It still hurts a little. It’s no big deal.” said Ye Ci as she stared at the huge bowl of rice in front of Tan Polang, “Why are you eating so much before going to sleep? Aren’t you afraid that you’ll grow to be as fat as a pig?”

“Why should I? I’m still young! You old folks are the ones who should be careful!” replied Tan Polang as he wolfed down his meal, “Especially you, sister Ye Ci! As a woman, you should be careful with what you eat, or you’ll grow fat without noticing!”

Bai Mo stared silently at the exchange and the ghost of a smile appeared on his face, “Enjoy the meal, you two. I’m going to sleep.” said Bai Mo as he stood up, “Polang, don’t forget to clean up the dishes when you’re done, and carry Little Ci back into her room.”

“Don’t worry, Brother Mo! You don’t have to remind me.” responded Tan Polang with a salute and a smug grin on his face, “Have a safe journey tomorrow!”

A safe journey? Ye Ci creased her eyebrows What’s going on? “Bai Mo, don’t you have something to tell me?” she immediately called up to Bai Mo.

“Ah, it’s nothing. I have to head home tomorrow.” answered Bai Mo with a smile.

He’s going home? worry filled Ye Ci’s heart. Maybe I’m just thinking too much into it, thought Ye Ci to herself. But a thought surfaced in her mind: Is Bai Mo really just going home? Or... Is he finally making a move against Dong Yin?

However, the question did not leave Ye Ci’s mouth. She furrowed her eyebrows and stared at Bai Mo for a long moment before finally speaking up, “So it’s just a simple trip back home?”

Bai Mo, of course, knew the meaning behind Ye Ci’s words. The smile on Bai Mo’s face was like a mountain covered by fog and cloud in the morning. She was unable to discern the true intention behind his smile.”

“Of course. I might also go on some blind dates, and hook up with some pretty ladies. Why? Are you worried?” said Bai Mo.

Ye Ci was not convinced. She lowered her head and extended her chopstick to the plate of dish in front of her, “A desperate rabbit will bite, and a cornered dog will jump over the wall. Don’t go overboard.”

The smile disappeared from Bai Mo’s face. He took in a deep breath, and patted Ye Ci on the head, “I know.”

“Be careful.”

“You too.” Ye Ci did not lift her head. She could feel the warmth from Bai Mo’s touch fading away from her head, and she heard Bai Mo’s steady footsteps heading to his room, followed by the opening and closing of his bedroom door.

The atmosphere was deathly silent.

Bai Mo will be alright Ye Ci took in a deep breath. The incident in her past life was like a vivid nightmare that was constantly haunting her. It was a huge boulder than was pressing down on her heart.

She felt a sudden sliver of warmth, and found her shivering hands enveloped by Tan Polang’s tanned hands, “Brother Mo will be alright.”

Ye Ci lifted her head, and stared at Tan Polang. He was smiling at her, “Sister Ye Ci, Brother Mo is more capable than you think. He’s way calmer and more mature than you think he is. He will be alright. Just believe in him, like how he has always believed in you.”

Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. She did not expect the words from Tan Polang. She had always thought of Tan Polang as the family member who knew the least about that incident. She was wrong. Tan Polang knew, but he chose to remain silent. Perhaps he was not as naive as she thought he was. His intelligence and maturity was something that she had overlooked.

Hiya minna-san! This awesome chapter of an awesomesauce is translated by an awesomtacular translator(that’s me, by the way)! I hope you people enjoyed yourselves!!

So... Since I received no response about the stream, I guess we’ll cancel it for now. I’ll try to keep up with a higher release rate since it’s my sem break. Had lots of fun in Penang, ate a lot of good food, did a lot of fun stuff over there, aaaaand... saw a lot of pretty gals~ XD

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Desu Vult!