Chapter 108: Swordsman Online 3 BL (II)

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Chapter 108: Swordsman Online 3 BL (II)

The main city of Chengdu in Swordsman Online III was always bustling with players. If your computer wasn’t powerful enough and you didn’t hide player models, you could witness all kinds of bizarre, high-speed “drifting” movements. Sometimes, the system would even automatically hide the characters’ faces.

Miao Lichen idly controlled his Qixiu character, FirstRayofDawn, challenging Beggars’ Sect players to duels. His fingers danced across the keyboard, every skill used with impeccable timing. Before entering the System, his gameplay could only be considered above average. Now, however, it was unquestionably top-tier.

Glancing at his still-full health bar, Miao Lichen used “Butterfly Treading” to glide out of the duel area. He paid no attention to the system notification declaring his defeat. Turning his Qixiu around, he prepared to leave Chengdu’s famous dueling grounds and head to the Trading House to see if there was anything worth buying.

He had only just adjusted the camera angle when another duel request appeared in the center of the screen. Standing before his Qixiu was a Beggars’ Sect loli. The loli characters in Swordsman Online III were undeniably adorable, with their tiny stature and round little faces. After sending him a duel request, the little Beggars’ Sect girl bounced cheerfully around him. Being challenged to a duel in Chengdu was perfectly normal, but after finishing one drawn-out match earlier, Miao Lichen had no intention of doing another.

He casually clicked “Decline,” then glanced at the girl’s ID: FirstLightofFall. Put together with his own character’s ID, the two looked almost like a matching pair. Understanding flashed across Miao Lichen’s eyes, and the corners of his lips curved into a faint smile. Without another thought, he used his Lightness Skill to enter the Trading House. The little Beggars’ Sect girl didn’t continue pestering him. She casually challenged a nearby Qixiu loli instead, as though the two of them had merely crossed paths.

FirstLightofFall was Mu Kuiqiu in real life, the only daughter of the Mu family’s direct line. She was a true business prodigy, having begun learning company affairs at fifteen and taken full control by twenty. If Miao Lichen was the miracle among illegitimate children, then Mu Kuiqiu was the perfect example of an elite heiress. Compared to the two of them, Yang Qifeng’s reputation was practically insignificant.

She had never actually met Miao Lichen, but because senior figures often mentioned the two of them together, she naturally became curious about him. Curiosity was the beginning of obsession. The moment she met that refined and elegant man, she had lost her heart. She had always believed there was nothing she wanted that she couldn’t obtain, so she naturally believed Miao Lichen was destined to be hers. Since many women surrounded him yet none had ever truly moved his heart, she had lowered her guard.

What she hadn’t realized was that a love rival wasn’t necessarily a woman. Sometimes, a man was far more dangerous. Thinking of Yang Qifeng, Mu Kuiqiu clenched her hand tightly and glanced at her adorable little Beggars’ Sect loli, who was still hopping around cheerfully. Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself that everything had yet to begin. She still had a chance to win Miao Lichen’s heart. No—she had to win it. That man was supposed to be hers. If Yang Qifeng hadn’t interfered, she would have become his wife in her previous life.

Originally, she had never played Swordsman Online III, but now she had joined the game. Whether she could capture Miao Lichen’s heart in-game depended on her own abilities. The Yang family was still unstable, and Yang Qifeng had little time to spend playing games with Miao Lichen. This was her best opportunity. She refused to believe that, with memories from her previous life, she couldn’t defeat Yang Qifeng.

After finishing his work at the psychiatric hospital, Miao Lichen logged back into Swordsman Online III. The Qixiu on the screen lacked the liveliness she had in reality. Like the cooldowns on her skills, every movement felt somewhat rigid. Still, this wasn’t a fully immersive virtual world, so expecting too much would be unreasonable. The moment he logged in, he saw messages in the guild chat.

[Guild] MoonisColdHeartisCruel: qaq Dawn is online! Hurry over and help me carry my disciple.

MoonisColdHeartisCruel was a female Five Poisons character who served as the guild receptionist. Naturally, her voice was exceptionally pleasant. Although it lacked the mature charm of an older woman, it retained a youthful freshness that many people found irresistible. She also occasionally sang songs on voice chat (vc), making her one of the guild’s most popular veteran members.

Although Miao Lichen and Yang Qifeng had both been among the guild’s earliest members, they rarely spoke in voice chat and seldom participated in guild activities, leaving their activity level relatively low. Nevertheless, because both wielded legendary orange weapons and possessed excellent skills, they still enjoyed considerable fame within the guild.

[Guild] FirstRayofDawn: Since when did you take on another disciple?

[Guild] MoonisColdHeartisCruel: (⊙o⊙) Didn’t I say I wanted a little yellow chick ( Cangjian Sect ) disciple so I could farm kills in the wild?

[Guild] FirstRayofDawn: I think you did. What level is your disciple now?

[Guild] MoonisColdHeartisCruel: Already 39. Just take him through Saltless Island twice~ (≧▽≦)/~ My disciple is an adorable newbie~ If I didn’t have class, I wouldn’t have to trouble you. Raising newbies is the cutest!

[Guild] FirstRayofDawn: Invite me.

[Guild] MoonisColdHeartisCruel: I knew Dawn was the best!

Immediately afterward, Miao Lichen received MoonisColdHeartisCruel’s party invitation. Besides her standard Five Poisons portrait, there was another portrait using the default Cangjian icon—a golden sword representing a Cangjian character. The ID was one he knew all too well. “ThisLifePureCold,” the protagonist of this world, Rong Hansheng.

[Party] MoonisColdHeartisCruel: Dawn, I’m leaving my cute disciple in your hands qaq. I’m logging off for class now. I’m almost late. Life is exhausting.

[Party] FirstRayofDawn: Mm.

[Party] MoonisColdHeartisCruel: Bye bye~ （　＾＿＾　）／～～

As MoonisColdHeartisCruel’s health bar turned gray, indicating she had logged off, only Miao Lichen and Rong Hansheng remained in the party.

[Party] FirstRayofDawn: Use Divine Travel to Saltless Island.

[Party] ThisLifePureCold: Master already summoned me to Saltless Island.

Miao Lichen directly used Divine Travel to reach Saltless Island himself, casually clicking on Rong Hansheng’s portrait. As expected of someone from a prestigious family, despite having played for only a day or two, Rong Hansheng’s character already had white hair and wore a standard Cangjian outfit. Nothing about him looked like a complete beginner. Of course, that wasn’t surprising. He wasn’t new to online games in general, and most MMOs shared plenty of similarities.

After directing Rong Hansheng to speak with the guide NPC and enter the interior of Saltless Island, the screen immediately filled with red-named monsters. Miao Lichen had no habit of chatting while pulling mobs. Qixiu’s Ice Heart specialization didn’t have many AoE skills, so carrying low-level characters wasn’t nearly as fast or convenient as classes like Tangmen or Cangjian. Gathering monsters together was also rather troublesome.

Rong Hansheng quietly followed closely behind Miao Lichen the entire time. Occasionally, the hostile monsters would enthusiastically “greet” the low-level character with a few attacks, but Miao Lichen would immediately use his skills to pull the aggro away, as though he were watching Rong Hansheng the entire time, protecting him the instant danger appeared.

Rong Hansheng picked up the glass beside him and took a sip of water. One hand controlled his Cangjian character while his eyes remained fixed on the female Qixiu busily rounding up monsters ahead of him. The pink robes gave her a delicate, almost fragile appearance, making her seem difficult to approach at first glance. Yet every action she took was remarkably thoughtful. She was probably the type of girl who treated her friends sincerely. That was Rong Hansheng’s first impression of Miao Lichen.

Setting down his glass, Rong Hansheng studied the character on the screen with curiosity before lowering his eyes slightly. He really was hopeless. It was just a game. What was the point of reading so much into things? The character on the screen was only a virtual avatar. Simply because she carefully escorted a new player couldn’t prove anything.

[Party] FirstRayofDawn: You can just click my name and follow me. Switch out for a moment and look up how to reset an instance. The follow option is under the little arrow beneath my portrait.

[Party] ThisLifePureCold: Ok. Thanks.

After controlling his character to follow behind the Qixiu, Rong Hansheng realized they were so close that their their character models were nearly touching. It was the first time he had carefully examined a character’s face. Of course, that was partly because he hadn’t played the game for very long. Besides MoonisColdHeartisCruel, he barely had any friends. His master had rushed in and out after summoning him earlier, so apart from noticing her appearance, he hadn’t really paid attention to anything else.

He couldn’t find anything especially remarkable about the Qixiu’s facial features, but her faint smile made him instinctively like her a little more. After all, he himself liked people who smiled. As the saying went, you never hit a smiling face. Possessing a perfect smile was a powerful weapon in the business world, especially when paired with his naturally innocent-looking features.

Switching out of the game, Rong Hansheng quickly searched online and soon found a guide explaining how to reset instances. Comparing it with his own interface, he understood everything immediately without forcing Miao Lichen to walk him through the basics. After exiting and resetting the dungeon several times, the two gradually developed a tacit understanding. Rong Hansheng learned how to position himself so Miao Lichen could pull monsters with greater ease. Instead of constantly sticking to the Qixiu, he deliberately maintained a slight distance. Although simply using Follow would have been much easier for someone being carried, Rong Hansheng chose not to.

Miao Lichen conscientiously carried him all the way to level 56, stopping only briefly for lunch. One thing worth mentioning was that after looking up the benefits of the master-disciple system, Rong Hansheng had voluntarily asked Miao Lichen to become his master. Miao Lichen naturally accepted.

For any account, levels 56 to 61 were undoubtedly the most troublesome stretch. Although the second boss in Tianzi Peak could be exploited to endlessly farm mobs, not everyone had the patience to repeatedly face the same boss. Miao Lichen clearly possessed that patience. Thus, the two continued their endless farming until darkness gradually fell outside.

[Party] FirstRayofDawn: I’m logging off. I have work tomorrow.

[Party] ThisLifePureCold: Mm. Thanks for all your hard work today. I really appreciate it.

Rong Hansheng glanced out the window and only then realized how late it had become. His thanks were entirely sincere. Not everyone would willingly spend an entire day carrying someone else’s character.

When his gaze returned to the screen, he saw the Qixiu standing in front of him, while a trade request from FirstRayofDawn appeared in the center of the screen. He clicked Accept, looked at the rows of Nayuan Pills in the trade window, and accepted them without unnecessary modesty.

[Party] FirstRayofDawn: It’s nothing. You’re my disciple. It’s only natural for a master to help their disciple level. But don’t treat your master like a paid power-leveler. I only carried you today because I happened to have nothing else to do.

[Party] ThisLifePureCold: ……

[Party] FirstRayofDawn: Learn the Cangjian skills properly. Otherwise, after reaching max level, you’ll get beaten to death whether you’re raiding or PvPing.

[Party] ThisLifePureCold: Mm.

[System] Your friend FirstRayofDawn has logged off.

A faint smile appeared on Rong Hansheng’s lips. This master of his was refreshingly honest. A game he had once found unbearably dull now seemed a little more interesting. He picked up a cigarette, intending to smoke, but then remembered he was no longer abroad and his identity was no longer the same as before. He put the cigarette back into the pack instead.

He rose and walked toward the living room. The shrewdness in his eyes was concealed beneath an innocent expression, making him look every bit like a simple, immature young man rather than the renowned financial strategist of the Chinese district in the USA.

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