Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 31 Why?

It was such a small world.

The two greeted Ye Ci right after they joined the party, “Gongzi, what a coincidence, we’re here for the fun, but we only found guild parties. We were just about to leave and then we saw somebody looking for party members.”

We never thought that it’ll be you. We joined immediately without thinking!” Icy Cold Little Hands idolized Ye Ci, she was happy to be in her party.

“I was wondering, had all the Healers and Tanks lost their jobs?” Ye Ci was happy to see people that she was familiar with. Their skills were not that good, but she knew their strengths and weaknesses, having already partied with them before. It would be easier to control the situation once they entered the dungeon.

“Wow! Both of you are from the Freaking Awesome People! You’re the ones who got First Blood on Icy Cave hard difficulty!” Timely Rain and Pickled Pepper Phoenix Claw said excitedly.

Normally, Little Icy Cold Hands would’ve bragged about it. But he could not bring himself to do so in front of Ye Ci. He scratched his head awkwardly and asserted, “It’s just a coincidence. Just a coincidence.”

Those two underestimated the power of idols. Despite Little Icy Cold Hands’ reserved behavior, Timely Rain and Pickled Pepper Phoenix Claw treated him warmly. Ye Ci sighed. She was also part of the people who cleared it you know….

“Have you guys completed the prerequisite quest?” asked Ye Ci.

“Yes,” replied the four collectively.

With the average player progressing towards the Chilly Wetlands, even those without a party would have the common sense to complete the prerequisite quest just in case.

Ye Ci nodded her head and led the four into the Cruel Pit.

Just before she entered the dungeon, Ye Ci’s private voice message channel rang. The conversation also appeared in her text message channel.

The person had a Fate Logo beside his name in the word channel. It was a Fate Official.

“Hello, I am Customer Service No.094. Miss Gongzi You, do you still remember me?”

“Yes, what do you want?” It was Wang Jiang Nan. Ye Ci was bewildered. Why was a person from the development team looking for her? Was he taking back her pet egg?

“We’ve been studying the bug that you submitted. It is in the opinion of the entire development team that this BUG is impossible to be exploited. Are you hiding the presence of other BUGs?” Wang Jiang Nan was in a difficult position. He knew that Ye Ci could kill the Sandstorm Scorpion with the BUG and he had reported it after investigating her movement records.

Of course, he could not tell that to his boss. He would be fired.

He could only try his best to explain the BUG reported by Ye Ci to his bosses and tell Ye Ci about the results of the investigation.

Ye Ci was momentarily puzzled. She then answered coldly, “Since you do not believe me, why are you here? Handing out punishment? Confiscating my loot?”

“No, Miss Gongzi You. The development team wishes for you to demonstrate the BUG you used to kill the Sandstorm Scorpion so that we can confirm the problem and fix the BUG.” Wang JiangNan sighed. He knew that it was almost a mission impossible.

Ye Ci remained silent as if she did not hear his words. She stayed with the party in the gloomy dungeons, clearing away the occasional monster.

The first floor of the Cruel Pit was slightly brighter. Scattered rays of light shone in from the cracks of the ceiling. The glittering light made the atmosphere even scarier. The mobs on this floor was scattered and it was easy to take care of them. The party could even joke around as they progressed through the floor.

“Miss Gongzi You, what do you think of my proposal?” Wang Jiang Nan was desperate when he received no response from Ye Ci. He was the one who reported the BUG to the higher ups, if it turned out to be a fraud, his bonus for the month would be gone. He might even lose his position in the development team that was planning the release of a new trailer.

Money did not matter to him. But if he was kicked out of the development team, it would be truly troubling.

But it was impossible for him to tell that to Ye Ci. Thus, he could only urge her to make up her mind faster.

Ye Ci gave the matter a moment of consideration before she replied, “Why?”

It made Wang Jiang Nan speechless. Then again, It had always been that way. Players had no obligation to report a BUG. To repair a BUG was the Official’s responsibility. It had nothing to do with the players. And to seek help from a player to repair a BUG without any reason…..

Exactly. Why?

Wang Jiang Nan did not know what to say, but he couldn’t just hang up like that. As such, the two continued to remain silent.

It was Ye Ci who spoke first, “If you can let me have all the dropped items, I’ll do it again.”

Wang Jiang Nan immediately relayed Ye Ci’s condition to the higher up and it was approved immediately. They agreed that if Ye Ci could get in touch with Customer Service No.094 whenever she was free, they could work together to repair the BUG.

The party was preparing to enter the second floor just as the conversation ended. Little Icy Cold Hands was curious about Ye Ci’s silence (She was talking to Customer Service No.094) and asked, “Gongzi, you’re quiet today….”

Ye Ci was puzzled, was she normally very noisy? “Then what do you want me to say?”

“It’s just that…. It’s weird to not hear you giving out orders in the dungeon.”

A smile lit up the pale face underneath the dim light, “Be careful on the second floor, the mobs are no longer scattered. They’ll be swarming us.”

“How do you know…..” before Timely Rain could finish his sentence, loud noises emanated from all around them.

A horde of skeletons were rising from the ground and moved slowly towards the party. The dim light in the dungeon shone on the bits of rotten flesh that still hung loosely off the skeletons, making for a horrible sight.

Icy Cold Little Hands let out a yelp and fell onto the stairs. Timely Rain also had his wits scared out of him by the skeleton horde.

The party would be annihilated at this rate. Ye Ci pulled Timely Rain backwards and shouted at Little Cold Icy Hands, “Little Cold Icy Hands, have you learnt Charge!?”

Little Cold Icy Hands was also shivering out of fear, but when his name was mentioned, he regained his wits and answered, “Yes”.

“Charge at them! Charge at the place where they’re most concentrated!”

Charge was a Warrior’s only means of building up mass aggro. It could attract the aggro of eight monsters at most along its trajectory. Little Cold Icy Hands charged at the skeletons, and a sharp sound resounded when his armor collided with the skeletons.

Ol’ Three followed close behind Little Cold Icy Hands and attracted the attention of the skeletons around him, relieving some of the pressure from him. At the same time, Ye Ci fired arrows at the skeletons and, with her high balance, began kiting them without attracting the attention of more skeletons.

Ye Ci finally found the time to give instructions to the three mage classed players who had lost their morale, “Warlock, cast Frost Beam! Aim for the skeletons nearest to the Healer and the Sorcerer! Healer, don’t just stand there, heal the Tank! Sorcerer, attack whichever target that the Warrior is attacking, be careful of what you hit! Control your aggro, be careful not to OT!”

Icy Cold Little Hands were frightened by the horrifying scene. She would’ve cried out loud if not for Ye Ci. She suppressed her fear, raised her staff with a trembling hand, and healed Little Cold Icy Hands.

Despite being men, Pickled Pepper Phoenix Claw and Timely Rain did not fare any better. With the scenery assaulting their senses, they would’ve been in utter confusion if not for Ye Ci’s instructions.

With Ye Ci’s careful and precise instructions, the party slowly got used to her orders and her combat style. With Ye Ci’s perfect positioning and controls, their fear of the skeletons decreased and they began to fight with order.

But the GS of the two DPS was too low, which badly affected their damage output. It was Ye Ci’s superior equipment that raised the party’s damage output.

The battle ended.

All of them sat on the ground, tired and sweating. Ye Ci threw a piece of roasted meat at Ol’ Three and patted its head, and to show its happiness, Ol’ Three rubbed its head against Ye Ci’s thigh.

A pale-faced Little Icy Cold Hands looked at Ye Ci but detected no hint of unusualness on her. Even her facial expression remained the same. He sighed and said, “Gongzi, you’re brave…. Aren’t you afraid of this scary dungeon?”

Ye Ci laughed. She was tempted to tell them that there were even scarier dungeons in the later stages of Fate. Cruel Pit was just the tip of the iceberg. She replied with half of the truth, “It’s just a game. It’s not real. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

The rest of the party sighed and shook their heads. They were impressed by Ye Ci.

After resting for a short moment, Ye Ci said, “Let’s go, there are more skeletons ahead. Be careful.”

The group gulped, and clutched their weapons tightly….