Chapter 287 A Future Champion in the Making
Translator: ASB | Editor: _Lunaelle /EndlessFantasy Translation
Cruz did not realize Qin Ruo was a master of Elemental Perception. He was also oblivious of the fact that his every movement was under Qin Ruo’s surveillance. Qin Ruo had not for once let his guard down.

Qin Ruo had created the false image that he was attacking the Vampire Leech because he desired Cruz’s Dark Gold equipment and his Honor Points. At least two of the Demon Faction Berserkers’ equipment was Dark Gold, and he would be satisfied even if he dropped the Gold ones. It would be laughable if Cruz, being a Field Commander did not carry any Honor Points; unless he had a similar experience like Qin Ruo himself.

Despite the unexpected tentacle waves, everything played out just as Qin Ruo’s envisioned it.

The activation of Twelve Frostramparts Formation killed two birds with one stone. It got Poochie out from the tough spot and it also lured out Cruz and the two Wargod’s Shrine Elementalists from hiding. In contrast, the surge of frosty aura startled Cruz when the Frostrampart Formation took effect and regretted his misjudgment.

Sometimes, one slip-up was all that matters to give the victory away, especially when it was in such a tense battle between high-level players.

Cruz’s heart plummeted when his eyes met those of Qin Ruo. The opponent showed no sign of flustering with their sudden entry or the slightest worry about being sandwiched by the monster and the three of them. It was at that moment Cruz realized they had fallen into Qin Ruo’s trap.

The realization came too late. Qin Ruo’s spell had reached them in no time.

“Lycan Barrage!”

Qin Ruo made no delay to flick open the Magic Scroll in his hand after activating the Twelve Frostrampart Formation. Two light rays carrying enormous energy sliced open the Frostlake surface and condensed into two terrifying water wolves.

Awoo!!!

Side by side, the wolves unveiled their fangs in midair and howled ferociously. They jumped straight toward Cruz, who was in Berserk form.

“Retreat!!” Cruz shouted as he lowered his shoulder. He then laid low to first avoid the incoming wolves’ attack, and then he straightened himself up and headed towards the ever mysterious Aquamancer. From his perspective, it was not impossible to kill the daunting Aquamancer. For now, the best chance for his two Elementalists comrades to survive depended on how well he could contain the Aquamancer in close range.

Cruz reckoned it would not be difficult to at least hold the Aquamancer in check for several rounds. After all, Cruz himself was a Field Commander who believed in his own strength, but his premature confidence shook as soon as he recalled the Aquamancer’s scary Frost Bullet, and the enormous frosty aura emanating out from the Twelve Frosramparts Formation positioned beside the Aquamancer that had turned the entire giant Frostlake Cave into an ice bunker.

After a brief moment of absent-mindedness, two familiar voices cried behind Cruz, “Be careful, commander!”

“The spell is remote controlled! Lay low, now!”

Right after the warning was dropped, two exceptionally strong auras had loomed large behind Cruz as he wondered what his teammates meant by “remote controlled spell”.

Boom!

Two horrific forces fell from top to bottom carrying an unstoppable momentum. Both of them struck Cruz almost at the same time and flung him down into the Frostlake.

“Commander…!” Following a series of tragic bellow, two spells were yelled out simultaneously by the two Elementalists.

“Fire Dragon’s Roar!”

“Thunderslash!”

None of the attacks could redeem Cruz’s life, who had now turned into a dead body floating up to the Frostlake surface.

It was another instant kill!

The two Elementalists from Wargod’s Shrine paled by the scene before them.

The so-called Field Commander was killed without getting anywhere close to the enemy, let alone the fact the opponent was only a Level 41 Aquamancer! A single strike killed Cruz!

Terror soon replaced the two Elementalists’ initial rage, especially when they saw Qin Ruo still holding firm after being hit by two Tier 4 spells. The Aquamancer acted like nothing had happened and proceeded to condense yet another two water wolves. Their face got paler; they were now at their wit’s end.

What a freak! What kind of defense proficiency was this? Fire Dragon’s Roar that had 180 Magic Attack only managed to reduce a few Endurance points and a mere 30 HP from the opponent? If this was because Aquamancers were more resistant toward Fire-type damage, then so be it. But what about Thunderslash that had a Magic Attack of 190 points? Even that did not damage the opponent’s Darkfrost Shield much and deducted not more than 130 HP from Qin Ruo. (Darkfrost Shield would only materialize when an attack was powerful enough to threaten the caster’s safety)

Both of them were out of ideas. They had chosen their best single-attack spell because they reckoned an AoE spell might not have sufficient offensive power to hurt Qin Ruo. Shockingly, both powerful attacks yielded nothing significant. Even when fighting alone against two other Tier 4 Elementalists, their damage yielded no response from Qin Ruo and consuming a bottle of HP Potion (L) could heal his light injuries—the two were not stupid enough to believe that Qin Ruo did not carry any large potions with him in this dangerous dungeon.

They could also tell the extent of Qin Ruo magical prowess now. Judging by Cruz’s 1200 HP and more than 130 points of Magic Defense, each water wolf must possess at least 250 points of Magic Attack to instantly kill Cruz in Berserk form.

This degree of attack would shatter any of their Tier 4 barriers in a single round.

While looking at Qin Ruo, the feeling of incompetence and hopelessness spread within the two Elementalists’ mind. They turned around to escape—it was a waste of effort to use their remaining Magic Scroll against such a freak. Resistance was futile.

“Still thinking about running eh?”

Qin Ruo moved two Aquaramparts formed from the Frostlake and blocked one of the Elementalist’s paths with a cunning sneer.

Boom!

The water wolf fused with the Frostlake emerged from the water under the other Elementalist’s feet. His Barrier was pounded twice and it let out a deafening bang. The Barrier disintegrated after the attack and his translucent inner defensive shield also began to crumble.

Hoorah!

The hiding Vampire Leech which had watched from the side all this while could no longer sit tight. As it saw the Demon Faction players flee, it opened its mouth and propelled a Frost Roar toward Qin Ruo.

The Boss was smart enough not to get involved in the fight earlier on, but it had misjudged one thing. Qin Ruo was never worried about the leech. This was because it was an Water-type Boss which lived in the Frostlake its entire life and knows only Water-type attack and skills.

As an Aquamancer, Qin Ruo had an innate defense against all Water Element spell. Besides that, the attributes of the Falling Sakura Snow Robe and Wintry Vajra’s Gaiters he was currently wearing could further weaken incoming Water-type spells (Water damage reduced by 20%). Combining these attributes with his Master-tier Frost Barrier, then 15% of incoming Magic Damage would be absorbed and the Boss’s attack power would be reduced by 40%. On top of that, there were also an additional 15 points of Magic Defense on the Darkfrost Shield in line with his own personal 113 Magic Defense stat.

A Tier 4 Elite Boss with at most 240 Magic Attack at most was therefore no way near a threat to Qin Ruo, not to mention its attack was Water-type, which was less effective.

Even though Raging Frost Roar had blinded Qin Ruo, it could not stop him from re-condensing the water wolves for the third time while he continued to control the Aquaramparts. This was all credited to Elemental Perception—in this Underground Frostlake, so far nothing could blindfold Qin Ruo yet.

After he destroyed the first Elementalist’s life, the Elementalist blocked by the Aquamancer had also met his end.

Dark Cyclone and company remained stunned outside the battle zone out of admiration the moment Qin Ruo instantly killed Cruz. They could not be blamed—a rival faction’s champion player regarded so highly was finished almost instantaneously. They had all watched the video on how Qin Ruo had fought against Dark Dragon, so their astonishment did not last for long.

After calming themselves from the shock, they returned their gazes onto the magnificent Twelve Frostramparts Formation. All five of them started to believe Qin Ruo had the wits and strength to take care of business alone. With so many tricks up his sleeve, he really seemed to be able to pull this off.

***

After he killed off the last rival faction player with the greatest of ease, Qin Ruo focused back onto the main course at hand.

‘Heh, it’s your turn.’

Qin Ruo understood that it was difficult for an Aquamancer to face a Water-type Boss. The fact that Poochie almost got caught in its first attempt pointed out a glaring problem—this monster was not a simple-minded creature and might still have a few trump cards left.

Besides, Qin Ruo was a careful person. He knew nothing was guaranteed in a Boss fight as there would be a lot of uncertainty. Thus, before he entered the giant cave, Qin Ruo had consumed Great Tree Sap and Special Roasted Snails. This improved an array of his attributes.

HP – increased to 2050 points.

Intelligence – increased by 20 points (20 Magic Attack, 10 Magic Defense)

MP – upper limit increased by 100 points (so that he would not feel the pinch of using a large MP Potion)

Element Affinity – increased by 5%

The increment in all these stats enhanced the Magic Attack of his offensive spell, particularly Lycan’s Barrage from 240 points to 270 points. So now…

‘Pfft, even if you have the ability to absorb more than 20% of Water damage, I am confident that you will still be beaten half to death by my wolves.’