Reign of the Hunters

The day was not as boring as Ye Ci had anticipated. What awaited the attendees after a long and boring conference was a cosplay event. She was able to enjoy the sight of cosers posing on the stage in a large variety of costumes. While they were not as cool looking as the characters in the game, it was still a wonderful sight. 

Fruit Jelly had even produced a pair of binoculars out of nowhere, “Wow! Look at the Human Sorcerer! He’s so handsome! And that Undead Priest! Oh my God! Ohh, look, the Elven Rogue is gorgeous as well!” 

Ye Ci rolled her eyes at her guildmate. They were paying their attention to completely different things. 

To Ye Ci, the whole point of a cosplaying event was to appreciate the blood and sweat the cosers put into making their costume. The appearance of the cosers themselves did not matter to her, “Look at that Hunter over there, isn’t his costume great? It looks just like the one in Fate!” 

This earned her an incredulous look from Fruit Jelly, who pursed her lips, “But look at him, he’s not much of a looker.” 

“Hey, isn’t this event supposed to be for the costume?” 

“Appearance is what matters alright?” Fruit Jelly shot Ye Ci a glare, “You might not care because your man is a handsome one. We’re not the same.” 

Ye Ci was rendered speechless. 

An award ceremony for the PVP tournament was carried out after the cosplay event. Players who made it into the top 10 were awarded. The prizes for those who made it into the top 3 were especially impressive. 

Ye Ci could feel a stabbing pain when she looked at the list of rewards. Damn it! I would’ve been able to get those. The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she became. She stood up to leave. There’s nothing to see here anyways. It has nothing to do with me.

“Where are you going?” Fruit Jelly asked when she noticed her friend standing up. 

“I’m bored. I’ll head out for some fresh air.” came the response. 

“Ahh..” said Fruit Jelly as Ye Ci slowly made her way to an exit. 

A voice called out to Ye Ci when she approached one of the exits, “Hey, that girl at door no.4, the ceremony is still going on, isn’t it a little rude for you to leave?” 

It was a voice that Ye Ci knew very well. She could feel the countless stares boring holes in her back. She pursed her lips and continued making her way to the door, but the players began calling out to her, “Hey, I think Fleeting Time is talking to you.” 

Ye Ci rolled her eyes and quickened her pace. Of course she knew that Fleeting Time was calling out to her. He was the only one in the world who would do something like that in public. I did not hear him. I did not hear him. I did not hear him. She repeated the words again and again to herself.

But her strategy of feigning ignorance did not work on Fleeting Time, who took the mic away from the emcee on stage, “Where are you going, Little Gongzi? I’m still up here.” 

The ‘love story’ between Gongzi You and Fleeting Time was well-known in Fate. Many of the veteran players could recall the battles between the two that were something that the new players could no longer enjoy. 

Fleeting Time’s words managed to pin more attention on Ye Ci. 

So that’s Gongzi You!!! 

And his words, “Where are you going? I’m still up here” was also something that had caught their attention. 

Does it mean that… Their romance has progressed from the game into real life? 

Ye Ci’s legs felt so heavy at that moment under the weight of so many stares. She turned around to glare at the man who was standing on the stage. The emcee chose that exact moment to recover from his shock, “Do you have anything to say about your victory in the PVP tournament, Fleeting Time?” 

Yi Qingchen was displeased that his moment was interrupted by someone else. While he was able to mask his annoyance well from the crowd, he was still able to express his displeasure to the emcee through a smile, “Ah, well there are indeed something I’d like to say.” 

Ye Ci immediately turned around to flee. She knew that the man was up to no good. She could feel her face burning as she began her escape. 

“I’m never fond of public events like this, and yet I still stand here today. Not because I care about the awards, and not because the events interest me. I am here because I have a few words to say to a certain someone. 

Ye Ci did not even know what made her stop. She looked up into the sky, but what greeted her was the LED lighting attached to the ceiling of the conference room. Her brain was screaming at her to leave, but her heart wanted to listen to what Fleeting Time had to say.  

Fleeting Time did not specify who the words were for, but she knew very well that it was meant for her. She took a deep breath, and turned around and walked back towards the last row of seats. 

This has nothing to do with me. Was written all over her face.

But was it the truth? 

Fleeting Time was grinning at her. She crossed her arms in front of her and waited. He could not see the expression on her face due to the distance between them, but he could feel her glare on him, as if she was trying to tell him: If that certain someone is not me, you’re dead! 

Ahhh.. I wanted to tease her so, so much. But he could feel the murderous aura around Ye Ci growing thicker the moment such a thought surfaced in his mind. He sighed, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Well… I can sort of see how the years ahead will be for me…

They’re definitely going to be the best years in my life.

“Dang it. I thought that I had only a few words to say. But now that the time has come, I feel like I’m going to speak more than just a few words.” Fleeting Time smiled. This was the first time many of the players present had met him in person. While a lot of them were enemies in game, their grudges were not carried into their real lives. Many of them cheered Fleeting Time on when the words left his mouth.