The highest level on the Level Ranking Board was level 35. However, the fact that a lot of players were reluctant in revealing their names on the ranking board had to be taken into account as well, Ye Ci was one such player. There might not be many like her, but they were bound to have higher levels than those on the Level Ranking Board.
Despite that, Ye Ci believed that there would be not more than 3 players who were above level 40 in the Swamp of Sorrows, she might even be the only one. This was why she had the courage to roam around alone in the Swamp of Sorrows.
Even though levels were not an obvious thing, an eye-catching mount was visible to all. If one was in possession of such an eye-catching mount, the person was either rich, very skillful or very lucky. Creatures like Ol' Four that could be used as a mount and also could be sent into combat were few and far between. Ye Ci might not be the only player of the Hunter class to have such a pet, but she was certain that she was the only one to have it in the entire Eastern Continent.
Due to the effects of the Brooch of Deceit, Ye Ci's appearance was that of a normal player. Ol' Four was fearsome, but a lot of players drooled at the sight of him.
Not all the mounts in Fate were bound to players, quite a number of them would drop upon the death of a player. In the later stages of the game, players with rare mounts had to be very careful as they traversed through different maps, or they risked losing their mounts.
Ye Ci could see groups of Western Continent players the moment she stepped into the Swamp of Sorrows. They huddled together in groups, minding their own business and not bothering the players from other continents. It appeared to be quite peaceful. Although she was enthusiastic in farming Kill Glory, Ye Ci held back from going on a killing spree. The players were simply too scattered, and she had a quest to complete.
However, there's a saying that when someone's down on their luck, they'll choke even on a sip of water. As Ye Ci rode down towards Dark Clay City, she was suddenly hit by an attack.
"You have been attacked by Northern Continent player *****." the system notification rang out. As her opponents were from the Northern Continent and had hidden their names, the names of Ye Ci's assailants were not visible to her. This, however, was not a matter of concern for Ye Ci. What mattered most to her was: Who the hell had the guts to provoke her wrath? Did they want to die?
They were indeed courting death.
Ye Ci did not immediately stop Ol' Four. She galloped onwards, only sparing a glance behind. A group of red tinted players stood at the side of the road. One of them, a Hunter, remained in his firing stance, while Sorceress was already channeling a spell and a Warrior began charging at Ye Ci.
If Ye Ci was not mistaken, the Sorceress was casting Polymorph. The fact that the attack from the Hunter resulted in a MISS meant that the players were at least 7 levels below her. The Polymorph spell, however, was no child's play. If it connected, Ye Ci would be knocked down from her mount and she would not be able to fight back. It would be very embarrassing for her to get killed by the group of players just like that.
By then, the Warrior had managed to approach Ye Ci with his Charge ability. Ye Ci received yet another system notification, "You have been attacked by Northern Continent player *****." Her combat log indicated that the Warrior's charge was unable to stun Ye Ci as it was a MISS.
The players were astonished when their attacks missed. The Warrior was especially confused. Paying no heed to the players' reaction, Ye Ci turned Ol' Four around and charged at the Sorceress at full speed.
The Sorceress began to move and hastened her spell casting when she saw the Huntress charging at her. Ye Ci raised her crossbow and cast Rapid Fire at the Sorceress. Right at the same moment, the Sorceress's cast her spell, and Ye Ci was covered in golden light. She could feel herself growing smaller, and she lost control of her body.
As an expert Sorceress in her last life, Ye Ci was no stranger to such a condition. There was only one logical explanation: Ye Ci had been Polymorphed. A player who was Polymorphed was unable to launch any attacks for the duration of the spell. Under the effect of such a spell, Ye Ci could easily be defeated by the group of players. But there was something that the players had not expected.
The Huntress' mount did not disappear even after they knocked her down from her mount. Instead, it bellowed in rage and charged at them. The players could only stare at each other in dismay.
"Don't just stand there, attack!" shouted the party leader who was a Hunter, and the rest of the party members began throwing their skills at Ol' Four, dealing little to no damage to the beast. The players once again looked at each other in dismay. The Hunter then gave out the order, "Run!"
The party scattered.
A panicked discussion ensued in their party channel, "What the heck is going on? Haven't we knocked her down from her mount? Haven't we Polymorphed her as well? Why is her mount still charging at us?" The Sorceress who turned Ye Ci into a sheep was at the back of the group due to her movement speed. However, she was not the first person to land an attack on Ye Ci, which meant that she did not hold the highest aggro value. As she spoke, Ol' Four dashed past her and headed straight for the Hunter.
Almost all the players tried launching attacks on Ol' Four, but to the level 42 beast that was tanky and had a very bad temper, they did not present a threat. They were like toys that he could chase around. He ran at the group of players the moment Ye Ci was knocked down from his back. Ol' Four, who was originally simply running along was thoroughly enraged when the players began pummeling him with skills. He let out a roar and broke into a full stampede. Ol' Four then released an AOE ability, dealing a tremendous amount of damage to the hostile players.
"What the hell was that? That damage is unreal! I almost died!" shouted the players who were closest to Ol' Four.
"How the hell would I know?"
"Could it be… That her mount was also her pet?" said the party's Cleric as she ran. She did not take part in the attack, which meant that not much of Ol' Four's aggro was on her.
"Are you f*cking kidding me? I've never seen a pet like this that existed in Fate? How the hell would we run into one?" exclaimed the party's Rogue.
"Just because you haven't seen one doesn't mean that it doesn't exist! Are you f*cking illiterate? There's one such pet in the Eastern Continent, It belongs to Gongzi You! Didn't you spend a lot of time on the forums- " The Warrior, who was about to be caught up by Ol' Four, shouted at the Rogue.
The Warrior paused mid-sentence and cast a glance at the Polymorphed Ye Ci, "Could that person be Gongzi You?"
"Pah! Don't you dare jinx it! I heard that Gongzi You is currently busy clearing dungeons with her guild. Why the hell would she appear in the Swamp of Sorrows?" a Gnomish Sorceress interjected, "This could be a BUG! We could report it…"
In truth, when the Warrior voiced out his opinion, the party was very sure that they had messed with the wrong player. The words of the Gnomish Sorceress gave them a sliver of hope.
By then, the duration of Polymorph was over and Ye Ci returned to her original form. She sighed when she saw the group of players being chased around by Ol' Four. They must have thought that since Ye Ci was alone, they could take her out and earn some Kill Glory, as well as get a shot at obtaining Ye Ci's mount. The players, however, ran into a wall.
Not wanting to waste time and energy for just a mere few points of Kill Glory, Ye Ci whistled in the direction of the fleeing Northern Continent players. Ol' Four who was right at their heels turned around and headed back to Ye Ci. She had no time to waste on level 30 players, her priority was to meet up with Lord Moore of Dark Clay City.
The fleeing players heard the whistle, and the gigantic presence behind them departed.
As a Tank, the Warrior braved a look backward and stopped. "That's enough guys, stop running! The Huntress recalled her pet."
The party finally stopped and turned around to look. Ol' Four had already returned to Ye Ci's side. The players immediately crouched down and hid behind some low shrubs to observe the Huntress. In case she mounted her beast to resume chasing after them, they would at least have a good distance between them.
After making sure that the Huntress had truly left, the members of the party heaved long sighs of relief.
"That's a close one. Can't believe we ran into somebody like that in our first ambush. We're lucky she decided to let us go, or our efforts in leveling today would have been wasted." The Gnomish Sorceress let out a long sigh, petting himself on the chest, marveling at his good luck.