Chapter 27: Encounter 2

"Darn it I missed." a sarcastic voice came from one of the cloaked figures that are wielding a crystalline bow at his hand.

"Heizi, stop messing around you almost killed someone." another sarcastic voice scolded the shooter. "Hey, kid are you okay?"

Hearing the sarcastic voices and the cold glint on their eyes even without detecting the Aura of Death from them Shi Fan can still see their bad intentions.

"Yeah, it's fine. No worries man." he also joined in as if he didn't notice something.

"Sorry man if that hit you would have almost died." the person at the center commented. He began walking towards Shi Fan. "Here let me give you something as compensation."

Shi Fan agreed to himself. If that arrow definitely hit him seeing as it is magically imbued with a spell as well as the power radiating from them shows that they are Rank 2 players. If it didn't kill him his HP bar will definitely be in the red.

The walking cloaked figure reached out for his inventory near his right pocket area however he silently slid his hand at the dagger behind his back however if seen from far away this action seems he's getting something from his inventory.

"Kid ready your weapon." Of course, this didn't go unnoticed on Quan Shi's attention.

"I know." Shi Fan already detected their bad intent. He already knows what their intentions are. He readied his right hand for pulling out the Sword of Uograzi from his back in case the individual suddenly attacked.

The walking figure sped up a little seeing as Shi Fan seems to raise his guard. Remembering about the trap in front of him he prepared on the upcoming scenario.

The figure blinked forward covering the distance of 10 meters immediately and he suddenly appeared before Shi Fan as he smirked ready to slash down his dagger. Until a system ping appeared in his chatbox

[System] Player has activated "Frozen Catalyst Trap".

Without a single second to run away from the trap, it encased him completely decreasing his HP by 25%.

Seeing that the figure in front of him is frozen. Shi Fan pulled out the Sword of Uograzi and sliced down. Predicting that he will still be alive on the first slash he immediately followed up with two more slashes his attack delay decreased by a lot during that fight with the player killers above the Savanir Mountains.

The cloaked figure which is completely frozen died immediately upon enduring the slashes Shi Fan did not even let a single second passed by since the figure was frozen. With the Aura of Pistil that the sword provided it made Shi Fan having an easy time killing him despite being Rank 2 players.

After Shi Fan killing one of them they still couldn't believe that he's the one that did it.

"They must have only been promoted just recently." Quan Shi noted.

"Is there any problem with that?" Shi Fan asked. He might have read a lot of forums in the past but they lack one thing. That is the First-Hand Experience in the game. No forum can replicate the feeling of playing inside the game. Even if video recordings exist inside it's not the same as feeling the Emperor Online through your own five senses. This is why lacking information is something that is a normal occurrence for him.

"Of course it does. They might be stronger due to their promotions but the benefits the ranking up have given them are still not ingrained to their bodies. With time they'll become adept at using their newfound powers " Quan Shi explained.

After all, even if you are proficient in using a sniper it doesn't mean that the next-gen sniper is also the same as before.

This is why some things are meant to be trained. Gaining experience from before is only a tiny fraction on the next. It also applied in all games.

With every update, the game changes and the players cope up. The one that is able to learn easily on the changes will rise above others earlier.

"I see." Understanding his words Shi Fan agreed. They might be weak. But people grow with time. This is why allies are important as they can cover each other's back in the time of needs.

"How nice it would be to have great teammates." Shi Fan said to Quan Shi. His reply however baffled Shi Fan as he only smiled in response to his statement.

Seeing as it is no longer a joke three melee users of the cloaked figures unsheathed their blades with an intent to kill and dashed forward. The three of them are composed of two swordsman and a berserker Confirming that there is no longer any traps in their path they increased their speed. With only 2 seconds separating them and Shi Fan, the tree leaves behind him rustled a lot.

The three figures not noticing this unusual occurrence as they concluded it was just air breeze they returned their focus. One of them was about to land on Shi Fan when the berserker noticed something awry.

"It didn't breeze a little since a while ago." then he realized it the hairs in every part of his skin almost stood up. The moment he looked up there is already 18 figures descending from them after leaping from the tree. One of them that is currently wearing a diamond plated armor cast a shield spell towards the player attacking Shi Fan as his shield immediately began to glow.

"Rank 2: Shield Press!"

The swordsman that is about to attack Shi Fan didn't managed to notice the change and is immediately swatted down by a Guardian with his shield that is among the newcomers. With he upcoming follow-ups. It only took about 3 seconds to kill the three attackers.

They immediately formed a defensive line with Shi Fan in their protection.

"Hey kid, it seems you have become a little stronger now." the player wearing a strong leather type armor from among the 18 players smilingly walked towards Shi Fan.

"It's you!" Shi Fan is extremely on guard with their arrival. However, seeing this guy he couldn't help but smile. This smiling person is also the same person who gave him the 2-Star Quest "Moon Tree".

"Tiger Tail!"