Chapter 6: Chapter 6

The King Boar stood a full two meters tall, but Zhao Mingwei leaped above it with his agility that was special to the Fighter-class.

Clenching his left fist, crimson radiance shrouded his glove as he punched down heavily on the King Boar’s head.

[Groundbreak!]

It was a beginner skill for Fighters at Level 5, and the condition was for the user to leap into the air—the damage increases with the height of the leap, and it has a certain chance of knocking the target away.

However, although Zhao Mingwei had managed to land his Groundbreak on the King Boar’s head, there was not even a single wound, much less knocking it back.

Still, he could clearly see a wave of ripple stirring over the boar’s hide when he struck it.

He could feel his fist landing solidly on the beast’s head, and not some data processed by a system.

The delicate sensation of the hit could only have been experienced in reality!

A [-7] damage sign appeared over the King Boar’s head and it roared. It swung its tusks that were almost two meters long above, and when it was about to tear through Zhao Mingwei’s body, a long, flowing thread appeared behind him.

The thread pulled Zhao Mingwei’s body and dragged him out of the King Boar’s range of attack.

Zhao Mingwei turned to look behind and found that the thread was a water elemental Jiang Qiao had summoned.

“Thanks!” Zhao Mingwei shouted, leaping away once his touched ground to unleash a snap punch, a Level 0 Fighter technique.

Another [-8] damage sign appeared over the King Boar’s head.

“The description of the game’s skill is quite simple,” Jiang Qiao said as he swung his staff.

His current path was Elemental Summoner, and the skills he had learned were summoning water spirits and fire spirits. Both familiars also had their respective skills.

Jiang Qiao could cast his skills just by thinking them, and the System would help him do it automatically.

It was the same for Zhao Mingwei’s Fighter-class, although it would also require a complex move to release the skill. Then, by thinking it, the System would automatically help him accomplish that.

Naturally, that combat assist function could be turned off as well—in fact, Zhao Mingwei did so when he learned about that.

Nonetheless, despite his talent as a gamer and his skillful plays, his level eight character was almost pathetically weak against a level ten King Boar.

The beast’s HP was 1,500, but both Jiang Qiao and Zhao Mingwei only managed to shred off half of that after half an hour.

On the other hand, Zhao Mingwei’s own HP was reduced to half by the softest of touches from the King Boar.

Only a single mistake was allowed in this Boss fight—the second would mean a team wipeout, but the teamwork between Jiang Qiao and Zhao Mingwei limited the Boar King to a single blow.

Now, however, the King Boar was about to make a second blow after being restrained as a punchbag.

It was now in berserk mode: spikes protruded out of its entire body and it evolved into a Bristleback—or indeed a King Porcupine!

A [-7] appeared over the King Boar’s head once again, but another [-120] digit appeared over Zhao Mingwei’s head too.

“I’m Bleeding. I’ll use Taunt to hold it, you run!” Having rich experience in online games, Zhao Mingwei could tell what was happening at once.

It was a party wipe!

“Alright, we’ll meet back in town!” Jiang Qiao replied shortly.

“You’re really quick to sell out your teammates, aren’t you?”

“It’s not like you can’t revive.”

However, just as Jiang Qiao was ready to flee to the city and start anew, a [+32] suddenly appeared over Zhao Mingwei’s head just as his HP bar was reaching the bottom!

[Free Milk has cast quick heal on Happy Gamer]

[Happy Gamer restored 32HP]

Two system notifications appeared over the corner of Jiang Qiao’s eyes, and he turned to find a Priestess, holding a cross and having just casted a spell.

“We have a healer now? I think we can still do this now! Can I have another milk?” Zhao Mingwei rolled on the ground to evade the King Boar’s charge after his HP was increased, but he was still Bleeding and would die in ten seconds if that continues.

“That heal is thirty bronze coins. I’ll keep healing after you paid!” Free Milk suddenly yelled.

“What the heck? What king of daylight robbery is that?” Jiang Qiao complained, having thought that the healer had come to offer a helping hand.

“Does MP potions come for free? Thirty bronze coins and I promise you both that you won’t die… well, I have resurrection spells even if you do!” Free Milk said as she did nothing except watching.

With her attitude, she definitely would not heal them anymore if she was not paid.

“Can we pay after the boss fight?”

Every bit of the King Boar’s attention was focused on Zhao Ming Wei—he could not free himself long enough for the trade.

“No!” She refused very firmly.

“Sixty bronze coins were sent to your mailbox. Hurry up!” Jiang Qiao quickly seized the moment to do as instructed, and the Priestess nodded in satisfaction after a glance in her mailbox.

“Alright! Invite me to the party!”

Jiang Qiao swiftly added her—a Level 10 Priestess—to their group.

With a healer, their group are afforded more chances to make mistakes. Still, it was another half-an-hour before the trio could cut down the remaining half of the King Boar’s HP.

In the end, with a tiny fireball released by a fire spirit Jiang Qiao was controlling and igniting one of the spikes over King Boar’s hide, the beast fell to the ground, wailing.

Jiang Qiao’s EXP hence increased from Level 11 at 95% to Level 12 at 2%, whereas Zhao Mingwei jumped directly to Level 9, although Free Milk was still Level 10.

“Phew…” Zhao Ming exclaimed as he dropped to the ground.

“Are you alright?” Free Milk asked, watching him—he looked like he was about to collapse. After all, he had been knocked around by the King Boar.

Still, Jing Qiao did remember that he had set the pain levels for the world at zero. It meant that all game characters would not feel pain whatever happens, although there would be red alert issued to players whenever an attack lands on them.

Moreover, they could still adjust their pain sensation.

“My legs… are numb.” Zhao Mingwei simply remained sprawled over the grass when he realized that he couldn’t get up. “But it feels awesome…”

“Awesome? That King Boar almost insta-killed you two several times, or could it be that you both have masochistic tendencies?” Free Milk recalled the heart-stopping moments in the battle just now, knowing that all three of them would be meeting in the crypt if not for the terrifically fine plays by Jiang Qiao and Zhao Mingwei.

“I could feel that post-battle thrill too. By the way, the King Boar dropped five items… all are starter-friendly. How should we split them?”

Jiang Qiao spread his arms, and the blue silhouettes of five objects appeared before the other two.

“You should choose first, god.” Zhao Mingwei had at first been joking by calling Jiang Qiao a god, but he was now definitely impressed after Jiang Qiao had saved the day more than a few times in the fight against the King Boar.

He himself was not totally familiar with the gameplay for Sacred Souls, but Jiang Qiao played his Summoner role so well he could control two familiars at the same time as if he had over twenty skills.

He would have immediately tried to pull Jiang Qiao to his team if it was seven years ago when he started out with [War], but it was regretful that he does not have a guild at the moment.

“I’ll take the Aura Cape and the Aura Gauntlet. You both pick the other three.” Jiang Qiao did not shy away from simply accepting two of the Aura item set. Each item was level ten, and every class could equip it.

Used as a set, the player’s character would gain 20 intelligence points and a five-second invisibility skill.

Zhao Mingwei took two items from the remaining three. And although the Priestess called Free Milk did not ask for any since she was feeling a little guilty for demanding up-front payment, Jiang Qiao good-naturedly gave her a necklace.

All three of them then logged out after splitting the loot—in the real world, it was six in the morning.

However, Jiang Qiao remembered that there was another function on the Sacred Souls app he had to try.

It was called ‘Soulfall’, a simple feature that allows a game character to descend upon the real world.