Elemental Lord

So this is where you've been waiting for us?

Meng's eyes, shadowed beneath her hood, froze, staring straight at Yu Yu.

The livestream bigwigs: "…"

Chong burst into laughter. [Exactly, the Magic Circle's dominating! But how about you cheer a bit?]

Meng, voice low, said, "How about you cheer a bit?"

Yu Yu: "Gah-gah-gah! Gah!"

She didn't hesitate, belting out the sounds with shameless pride.

"Gaaaah~~~"

She even added a rhythmic flair. Meng finally pressed her hand to her forehead, covering her eyes.

Damn it, she was charmed again.

The livestream bigwigs: "…"

Charmed again…

If all their junior spellcasters were this adorable, they might be inclined to slaughter a bit more…

Chong: [Heard that. Time to dominate.]

Meng rubbed her forehead for a while before shooting Felix a mischievous look. "Write it down."

Yu Yu suddenly remembered—Felix was here too.

Oh no! Her image!

"Don't write it, Senior!"

Pounce.jpg

Felix nimbly dodged, finishing her last line before glancing up. "Done."

Yu Yu: "!!!"

"My image in Her Excellency's eyes is ruined!!!" she wailed, clutching her heart.

Meng: "…You probably don't have an image in Her Excellency's eyes."

The Night Sovereign had visited last time, after all.

Yu Yu: "Impossible! I don't believe it!"

"As long as Senior doesn't record my bad moments, I'm fine!"

She tried again to peek at Felix's notebook. Felix gave her a sidelong glance, immovable as a mountain.

Feng Ye: [Get her up and working. I didn't send her to the battlefield to spectate!]

Meng: "Get up and work!"

Yu Yu turned, spotting a sprawl of players behind her. "What're you all doing?"

[I ate without washing dishes]: "Don't you think this place is perfect for a nap?"

"The lighting, the sound effects," [I ate without washing dishes] spread her fingers dramatically, "first time sleeping on a battlefield, and it feels amazing."

Scattered voices chimed in, "The big shots are too OP. Let's just chill."

"No task too tough if you just lie flat!"

Having seen the NPCs' ferocity, they obediently flopped. The Magic Circle was this strong—did they even need to contribute?

Not at all!

Field trip mode: activated!

Yu Yu was tempted by the idea too. Senior Chong and the others were so overpowering, it killed any urge to catch up. She just wanted to lie here shouting "666."

Then she glanced at Meng instinctively. Meng nodded toward Felix. Sure enough, Felix was scribbling again.

Yu Yu: "!!!"

This straight-laced wolf!

Yu Yu: "We've got other work to do!"

"If the Magic Circle thinks we're useless, they won't pay us next time!!"

Feng Ye: […How's she so obsessed with money?]

Shang Wei: "The power gap's too big. No point jumping in—just lie down."

Qian Qing added, "Feels like we're just here for the show. NPCs are already dominating—what's our role?"

Yu Yu snapped, "The seniors are killing it, but they don't bother picking up loot! If we don't make ourselves useful, how're we gonna snag those drops later?!?"

[I ate without washing dishes] flipped upright with a carp leap. "Holy crap, I forgot!"

A wave of players scrambled to their feet.

Qian Qing: "Commander, any tasks? I think we've got this!"

Shang Wei: "Let's wrap it up fast, or the loot'll despawn!"

Meng: "…"

Felix's pen paused mid-note.

Feng Ye and co.: […]

Guifan: [Chong, you dropping any loot?]

Chong: [Actually, yeah.]

Chang: [!!!]

Xue: [What kind?]

Chong: [Some anomaly materials, all colorful, but they don't seem that useful.]

She added, [We picked them up when we saw them, so they might not find much to grab.]

Feng Ye: [I don't know what'll happen if they follow… Wanna test it?]

Chong: [Might have to wait a bit.]

[We just reached the branch and are setting up the array.]

[Even with the key, these senior arrays are a pain to unlock,] she griped. [And we're dodging anomaly detection.]

[Good thing we cleared out a few alien tribes earlier, but the city's still crawling with monsters.]

[If they tag along, we might not have time to babysit. At best…]

Chong: [At best, we can keep the little ones safe.]

Feng Ye: [That's enough.]

Meanwhile, Yu Yu had unleashed every support spell the Second Corps had learned.

All fourth-ring ritual spells, but…

"They only cover the Duchess's army? Not even the players?" Yu Yu mused, pinching her chin.

"And the stat boosts are just okay," she huffed. "Not even close to the buffs the Grand Archon tosses out casually."

That jerk used to swing by to watch her suffer, then drop a spell that crushed her confidence, leaving Yu Yu grinding her teeth.

Below, the Duchess was moved to tears.

Sniff—a spellcaster actually cared about them!

Buffing them up!

Full-army buffs!

The Duchess was practically sobbing. Heaven knew spellcasters were usually ghosts—never seen, never mind helping. Now she could look up and see them. She hoped the Second Corps would keep this up.

Meng was genuinely chilling today, lounging until Yu Yu prodded her.

Yu Yu, still pondering, suddenly asked, "Senior, can Tuning spells be used for buffs?"

Normal spells had range limits tied to mental strength, but Tuning was a sonic spell!

It could blanket the whole field!

Meng: "Of course."

Yu Yu's eyes sparkled. "Senior, I wanna learn!"

Meng: "Don't know it."

Yu Yu: "You've got something you don't know?"

Felix glanced up.

Why did that line sound familiar?

Meng, utterly relaxed, said, "Tuning spells have been lost for ages. I only picked up scraps from Senior Jin Che last time. You were in such a rush, I didn't study much—how could I know it?"

Yu Yu fell into thought. "Oh, lost."

"Then Senior, you could learn from Senior Jin Che and teach me!"

Meng couldn't hold it in. "Why can't you learn it yourself?"

Yu Yu blinked innocently. "I think you'd learn faster. It's like combining like terms."

Her schedule was still packed. Meng learning and teaching her was clearly more efficient than adding another course.

Meng wasn't buying her nonsense. "Learn it yourself. Stop dumping hard stuff on me."

"What kind of lazy student are you?"

Yu Yu sighed quietly. "Hope it's not too tough."

Persuasion failed!

Her eyes lit up. "Senior, Senior!"

Felix's eyelid twitched. "I've got to return for advanced training after this."

Yu Yu clutched her heart. "Don't you want to learn more lost spells, Senior?!"

Felix fell shamefully silent.

Okay, she was slightly tempted.

Meng cut in, "Why don't you learn it and teach Felix?"

Felix snapped out of her hesitation. Good point.

Yu Yu: "…"

Meng!!!

Feng Ye snorted. [Good job, Meng. That little slacker thinks she can trick my pup? Dream on.]

Felix stared at Yu Yu.

Yu Yu forced a smile. "Senior's right. I'll learn it and teach you!"

Meng: "Hm?"

"And Senior Meng, of course!"

Meng gave a light hum, glancing below. "The Duchess is mobilizing. Hurry up and follow."

Yu Yu immediately steered the spectral ray to keep pace.

She looked down at the Duchess. "Where's she at?"

Meng pointed.

Yu Yu spotted the dashing silver-armored, white-horsed wolf and couldn't help but gush, "The Duchess is so cool!"

So valiant, so striking.

Especially that silver hair, all sparkly and gorgeous.

Felix disagreed, refusing to engage. But the player ranks behind were already falling apart. They hadn't even reached the battlefield—just mustering—and the elemental ocean was charging ahead. The players were a mess. The Duchess's army marched in neat squares, while the players dragged like noodles, stretched out endlessly.

How were they supposed to fight like this?

Yu Yu: "Senior, what's our mission?"

Meng: "Free action."

Yu Yu: "What about the players' mission?"

Meng glanced down, then looked away in disgust. "Them? Hauling stuff."

"Chong's team activated the Magic Circle's warehouse array. We need to empty it ASAP."

Yu Yu frowned. "Something that important, and we're letting players handle it?"

Meng shrugged. "It's not that important. They're moving standard material warehouses. The valuable stuff, the Duchess will handle."

"You can find that kind of thing in any city with a Magic Circle branch. Not worth much."

Yu Yu, hearing her breezy tone, couldn't resist. "The Magic Circle's been living off its legacy for 500 years and still hasn't run dry?"

Meng blinked, sitting up to think.

A moment later, she leaned back. "Yeah, we're nowhere near done. Saint Fran's City was the Magic Circle's old HQ. You trip over mithril golem-tier goodies there, but it's crawling with evil gods and high-risk anomalies…"

Meng sighed softly. "We're still too weak. There are so few spellcasters now. Open any warehouse, and it's enough to last us years."

Yu Yu was silenced by her matter-of-fact tone.

The Magic Circle's legacy was insane!

Warehouses everywhere, predecessors buried underground, lost spells and treasures galore…

Was the Magic Circle the Shiva Continent's favorite child?

"Too weak"

Yu Yu glanced at the elemental ocean below, dwarfing the Duchess's army by a thousandfold, and didn't know what to say. No wonder Meng kept reminding her to cling to the Magic Circle's coattails.

Wah, rich lady, hungry, feed me!

Feng Ye frowned. [What's that look?]

Meng: "What're you thinking?"

Yu Yu stretched out her hand, intoning gravely, "Rich lady, hungry, feed me!"

Meng: "?"

Felix: "?"

Magic Circle bigwigs: "?"

Meng swatted her hand away. "I'm not rich. Ask Felix—she's got money."

Felix shot her a look, quietly stepping back.

Embarrassing Yu.

Then Yu Yu saw her start writing.

Yu Yu nearly choked. "Senior, you really don't need to write that!!!"

"Her Excellency doesn't want to hear this, right?!?!"

Felix finished. "I record accurately. Whether Her Excellency likes it is her call."

Yu Yu was numb.

What the hell?

When the Legend read the records—first her "gah-gah-gah," then her begging Meng, "rich lady, hungry, feed me"—would she have any dignity left?

Yu Yu teared up. "I was wrong, I swear. I'll watch my words from now on!"

Meng and Felix glanced at her, not entirely convinced.

Feng Ye: [Heh, now she's sorry. Too late.]

Chang: [She doesn't know Her Excellency's identity and keeps acting wild in front of her. I doubt she needs to worry about her image.]

Yu Yu sobered, pinching her chin. "No good. Just casting buffs won't earn us Magic Circle points."

Feng Ye shifted to keep watching. She'd cleared her schedule to catch the livestream, feeling leisurely, even calling over Little Pup to snack. Thanks to Yu Yu's gifted treats, Little Pup loved them. Unlike his sister, he had no Sky Wolf pride—whatever you asked, he did, super cute.

Glancing at the players, then the Duchess's army, Yu Yu figured Zi Shu and the others were marching in there.

"Senior, does Lynx have any Restoration school ruins or anything?"

"Support spells last a while once cast. Maybe we could find a group Heal or something?"

Meng's eyes glinted. "Actually, yeah."

"Where?"

Originally, Yu Yu had sworn off recklessness, planning to stick with the Duchess and watch her dominate. But now… ahem, the wolf would forgive her.

Guang Chen: [She's finally thinking about Restoration.]

Xue: [Yeah, one spell could earn tons of points, but she just doesn't care.]

Soon, the spectral ray, under the Duchess's wounded gaze, sped up, leaving the coalition far behind.

Yu Yu! Wolf betrayer!

"Senior, if we're not flying, how do we get over?"

Before nearing the walls, Meng had ordered them off the spectral ray, banning flight as too conspicuous. Yu Yu eyed the towering walls, calculating how to get her group up. Not everyone knew Feather Fall or was skilled at Gust. With no buffer on this vertical climb, even Yu Yu figured she'd need to puff herself up like a gourd to make it in one go.

But her seniors were here!

And Felix loved her notebook!

No way. Absolutely not.

Meng: "Didn't you invent a Feather Fall-Gust combo?"

The two hovered leisurely, looking down, offering zero help.

Yu Yu pondered, then had an idea.

"Have you all learned Elemental Summon?"

"Learned it!"

"Learned it!"

Not many, but enough—elite players could afford third-ring spell points.

Yu Yu summoned her earth elemental, pointing at a player's wind elemental. "You, air-drop it onto the wall."

Players: "???"

Feng Ye: [What's she up to now?]

Half an hour later, the earth elemental finally grasped Yu Yu's intent, hesitantly hoisting the wind elemental onto its shoulder. The wind elemental, receiving no attack command, sat dazed as Yu Yu tied it with an Animated Rope. "Alright, air-drop!"

Feng Ye: […]

After sacrificing a dozen wind elementals, the earth elemental mastered a steady throw.

Meng: "…"

Felix: "…"

Yu Yu summoned her own wind elemental this time. Player wind elementals were unrefined, too fragile. She tiptoed, patting the earth elemental's arm. "It's on you. This is our wind elemental—don't miss."

The earth elemental understood, thumping its chest, scattering pebbles, signaling it got it.

Feng Ye: [This is decent. Meng, teach her to bond with promising elementals.]

This time, the earth elemental lobbed the wind elemental onto the wall with precision. The wind elemental lowered the Animated Rope by the wall. Though a wind elemental, its strength matched warrior players, more than enough to haul them up.

Meng sighed. "So clever, yet so lazy."

Yu Yu offered kindly, "You could all cast Feather Fall just in case. String onto the rope, and we go up in one wave."

Seeing no takers, she pinched her chin, thinking. Moments later, she summoned a bow, tweaking a spell arrow, her eyes blazing.

"Shang Wei, Shang Wei, I've got a great idea."

"Qian Qing!"

Spotting her bow, they bolted to the wall's base, scrambling up.

Yu Yu: "Why're you running?"

"What's with the sprint?"

"Senior, Senior, I found a way to travel indefinitely!"

Yu Yu looked up at them, eyes gleaming.

Meng glanced at the bow, numb. "Don't say it. I know."

"Senior!"

Felix shot down her fantasy. "Try it yourself."

Why?

Because after seeing Yu Yu's "great idea," the players eagerly cast Feather Fall and swarmed the wall in a line.

Then Yu Yu jogged over.

Yu Yu sighed. "Pity my archery's average. If Shu Tu were here, it'd be perfect."

She was scared of shooting herself into a monster pile—that'd be suicide. Yu Yu was the last up, dismissing the wind elemental but keeping the earth elemental.

Pinching her chin, she said, "I've got another idea."

Meng: "…Please, no more ideas."

Yu Yu: "I can't do Elemental Legion, but elemental bombs could work."

"Summon a fire elemental, air-drop it, and boom—extends spell range and adds explosion damage!"

Feng Ye: […I don't even know what to say.]

Chang: [Why's she so full of wild tricks?]

Xue added faintly, [Last time at the Academy, she put Feather Fall on a fire elemental and used Gust to boost its mobility. Now this…]

The others, only knowing Yu Yu torched the Academy, were stunned hearing Xue's details.

Gui Fan: [She's a battlefield natural, a real talent. Feng Ye, what do you think?]

Feng Ye smirked. [What's it to me? Want her? Train her yourself. Stop poaching.]

Chang Ming fumed, [You're unreasonable! You found the only Spirit 9 and hogged her! We didn't know as fast as you!]

Feng Ye: [Why aren't you the Silver Moon Grand Archon then?]

Chang Ming raged, [Because Her Excellency didn't pick me!]

Feng Ye, utterly shameless, said, [Take it up with Her Excellency. I'm not sharing.]

At the Magic Circle HQ, a certain Excellency sipped tea, watching the livestream, and raised a brow.

Yu Yu was close to high-tier, wasn't she?

She'd meet her soon.

Intriguing.

To get the earth elemental comfortable, Yu Yu burned through more cannon-fodder elementals.

Shang Wei: "Why does your earth elemental last so long?"

Yu Yu grinned at her. "Guess."

She began summoning her fire elemental. Once done, she patted her earth elemental's arm. "Here we go. Aim over there—there."

Anomalies didn't seem fond of walls. They were still atop the wall, with a clear view.

In Yu Yu's eyes, the city was a sea of exclamation marks.

Too many to rush.

Heh, just play!

Meng: "…I don't believe it."

She was losing it.

Felix was equally shocked.

Yu Yu noticed the earth elemental crouch. "What's up? Why'd you stop? Do elementals get muscle strains?"

Casually turning, she saw a sleek, slender elemental. It seemed to understand her, its head-flame curling into a question mark.

Elemental Lord confused. Elemental Lord curious.jpg

Yu Yu froze.

"Ele… ele…"

"Elemental Lord!!!" (Voice crack)

The players were clueless but impressed. Meng was practically one with the wall. She didn't have a fire elemental lord.

Livestream: […]

Feng Ye snapped a pen. [Didn't Meng say her first summoned fire elemental was a lord? How long's it been? How long?!]

She'd spent years summoning each elemental lord.

No, no, Feng Ye needed oxygen.

Chang was floored. [This works?!]

Yu Yu whooped, "Senior! Senior! Look! I summoned another Elemental Lord!!!"

Felix recovered. "Congrats."

Then she jotted in her notebook.

Meng: "…"

Get lost, stop looking at me!

"Senior, heh, hehehe…" Yu Yu kept winking at her.

Meng yanked her hood down, hiding her face.

No, too jealous, too jealous, too jealous…

Yu Yu had a thought and snapped a photo. "Gotta send this to the Grand Archon."

Meng, muffled in her hood, buzzed, "What? Finally remembered to share good news with the Grand Archon?"

Feng Ye had a bad feeling.

Yu Yu sent the screenshot with a ping, @FengYeDa.

Without hesitation, she said, "Nah, didn't you say she spent ten years summoning an elemental lord?"

"How could I forget the Grand Archon at a time like this?!?" Yu Yu declared, voice booming.