After a moment of thought, Ye Ci decided to fight. In a worst case scenario, she would be forced to waste an entire day to wait for the cooldown of the Brooch of Deceit, and sneak her way to the closest resupplying camp. Since she had already scouted out the route for her journey back, she would not be in any danger if she was careful enough.
Her only concern at that moment was to defeat Fleeting Time before her arrows ran out, and log out of the game.
Fleeting Time stood motionlessly as he stared at Gongzi You, who was also standing in silence. He knew that she was weighing her options. A smile appeared on his face as he waited patiently for Gongzi You to reach her decision.
As a gentleman, he would of course allow the lady to determine if they should fight.
After a long moment of silence, Gongzi You finally drew her bow, and nocked an arrow.
At the blink of an eye, the two figures dashed out into the rain like arrows fired from a bow.
The rain itself grew heavier, as if the sky itself was falling.
In truth, the movements of Fleeting Time and Ye Ci were hindered by the storm. It was a very uncomfortable to have rain splattering on their armor. Their accuracy was also greatly decreased because of the rain, and Ye Ci could feel her heart aching whenever her arrows missed their mark.
In a battle in the pouring rain, Stamina was a deciding factor for victory. Ye Ci was running out of arrows, and her Stamina was in the red. It was obvious that Fleeting Time would be able to outlast her in this fight. She was in an absolute disadvantage.
Will he accept a ceasefire? Even if he's willing to.. What sort of reason do I use to call for one?
A sudden idea appeared in Ye Ci's mind. This solution could turn the situation around for her, and even benefit her in her quest.
Despite her eagerness to finish the fight with Fleeting Time, Ye Ci knew that such a course of action was a foolish one. She could not afford to die in the Western Continent. Time was not on her side. She might also fail the quest if she died and was respawned in the Eastern Continent.
Because of that, Ye Ci made the hardest decision she had ever made in her gaming life.
She slung her bow, and walked towards Fleeting Time.
Fleeting Time stopped his attacked as well when he saw that Gongzi You had ceased all her attacks, and was walking slowly towards him. He studied Gongzi You silently, maintaining his readiness for a fight.
"What is it?" Gongzi You stopped 10 yards away from Fleeting Time. Despite her pale face, Fleeting Time could still see the strong spirit in her captivating amber eyes. Gongz You did not reach for her sword, nor was she displaying any intention to continue the fight. It was as if the intense killing intent around her had dispersed altogether.
"I concede defeat." said Ye Ci in a soft voice that was audible despite the heavy rain.
Fleeting Time was surprised to hear her words. Is Gongzi You someone who knows defeat? No. She's a person who will fight to the bitter end. Why is she conceding defeat now?
He was right. Ye Ci was someone who would never give up. Her decision to concede defeat did not come easily. Under such a situation, conceding defeat was her best choice.
A person who refused to back down for the sake of pride was not a hero, but a fool. A person destined for success was a person who knew when to make a stand and when to back down. After taking into account the price she would have to pay for continuing the fight, Ye Ci concluded that there was nothing wrong in admitting defeat. After all, this course of action would actually benefit her in the long term.
Fleeting Time slung his brow and raised his eyebrows, "Why is that?" Ye Ci's action had successfully aroused his curiosity.
"I'm out of supplies." said Ye Ci calmly, as if she was merely discussing the weather.
Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes. This was well within his expectation, but he refused to believe that it was the sole contributor to Gongzi You's decision of conceding defeat. She have not even summoned her pet, and even if she was out of arrows, she could still engage him in melee combat. Besides, he remembered that Gongzi You was armed with bombs that were highly destructive. There could be only one reason why Gongzi You admitted defeat before even trying her best: She was up to something.
Fleeting Time's lips formed into a smile, and a glint of excitement appeared in his eyes, "Ahh… Didn't we agreed the last time we met? That you'll have a drink with me if you lost? Come, why don't you have a drink with me?"
As expected, Fleeting Time could see Gongzi You's eyebrows furrowing slightly despite her calm expression. It was an indicator that she was slightly angered. However, she did not explode into anger like she normally would, and instead spoke in a calm voice, "I don't have useless things like that with me."
Ahhhh… She must be up to something. The Gongzi You he knew would have been enraged by now. Fleeting Time was amused. He walked up to Ye Ci and stared at her calm expression, into the depths of her eyes.
"I have a bottle of wine with me." Fleeting Time studied his surroundings, and spotted Ye Ci's original destination, "That's a good spot to hide from the rain. Let's go, drink with me."
Ye Ci had the urge to stab at Fleeting Time who was exposing his back to her. If she was able to stab him in the heart, it would definitely be a fatal blow. It was impossible that Fleeting Time was unaware of such a fact. A person who would do such a thing even when he knows about the danger is either an idiot, or is confident that I won't be able to kill him.
Fleeting Time was apparently the latter.
He was sure that Gongzi You would not be able to kill him. In fact, he was certain that Gongzi You would not even attempt to kill him.
Ye Ci was not happy to have a drink under such circumstances, especially after listening to Fleeting Time's words. What is there to celebrate for? Despite her anger, Ye Ci did not show her displeasure.
Fleeting Time was a worthy opponent. Even if he had a bad mouth, he would not fight dirty, and would not take advantage of his opponent's difficulties. It was rare for a player from a hostile continent to exhibit such a behavior. Drinking with an opponent like this… It's not bad at all.
Ye Ci received the finest of wines from Fleeting Time. It was the best wine in the entire Western Continent, brewed with the raspberry grown on the Everspring Plateau at the Ma'ou Mountain near Light Saint City.
It was something that could not be found in the Eastern Continent.
Ye Ci took a whiff of the bottle, and was able to tell the origins of the wine. She stared at Fleeting Time, this guy sure knows how to enjoy life, "This is the Midnight Wine of the Light Saint City. It's quite expensive."
"You're quite knowledgeable about the stuff in this game." Fleeting Time was surprised that Ye Ci was able to name the wine, this girl is keeping a lot of secrets, and he said with a laugh, "Since I'm treating Little Gongzi to a drink, I must of course use the best wine." he did not mind how expensive and how rare the wine was. To him, the wine was just a tool to liven things up.
The rich and mellow flavor of the wine spread in Ye Ci's mouth, and flowed down her throat. As a high quality wine, the Midnight Wine was able to recover Ye Ci's stamina after a few mouthfuls.
Fleeting Time leaned lazily against a boulder and stared at Ye Ci. A weird smile appeared on his lips as he drummed his fingers against his knee.
Ye Ci ignored Fleeting Time's gaze, and stared at the bonfire beside her. She appeared to be deep in thought, but at the same time, it was as if her mind was blank.
"You don't have to be so courteous with me. Just speak out your mind." said Fleeting Time with a smile after a moment of silence.
Ye Ci turned around to face the piercing gaze of Fleeting Time. She felt as if she could hide no secret from the man. She narrowed her eyes, it seems that Fleeting Time is not someone that I can deal with easily after all. Ye Ci pursed her lips, and went straight to the point, "I want to see Absalom."
The movements of Fleeting Time's fingers paused for a brief moment before he resumed drumming them on his knees. "You broke my heart, Little Gongzi. I thought you came to the Western Continent for me, but you're here to see that guy? This is just sad."
Ye Ci did not explode into rage despite Fleeting Time's teasing. She raised her eyebrows and smiled, totally ignoring his words.
Now that's rare. I've never seen her remaining calm even after being teased. She's not as simple as I thought. But why is she looking for Absalom? Do they even know each other?
Fleeting Time stared at Ye Ci, "If you don't mind, can you tell me what business do you have with Absalom?"
"I'm looking for the guild leader of the strongest guild in the Western Continent, and Absalom happened to be that person." said Ye Ci with a calculative smile.
It was the first time Fleeting Time saw such an expression on Gongzi You's face. He was always teasing her in their previous encounters, and they were always fighting to the death. This came as an amusement to Fleeting Time.
The intensity of her gaze and the mischievous grin gave Fleeting Time a feeling that she was an ambitious person despite her calm expression. Truth to be told, he was captivated by her ambitious look, "Little Gongzi, you're so coy. I'm merely asking about your business with Absalom, and not why you're looking for him."
"Mithril." Ye Ci sighed,it was tiring to communicate with a smart person, especially when he was right in front of you. She lost her patience in playing word games with Fleeting Time.
Mithril was just a metal to a normal player at the current stage of the game. But for a top-tier player like Fleeting Time and the leader of a major guid like Absalom, it had an entirely different meaning.
Fleeting Time froze when the words left Ye Ci's mouth. He was still leaning against the boulder, but the mischievous smile on his face was long gone. He spoke up in a low voice after a long moment of silence, "Did you say 'Mithril'?"
"What? Is Fleeting Time so senile that he can't hear me?" Ye Ci smiled innocently.
Fleeting Time was unfazed by Ye Ci's insult, and instead returned her smile, "Alright. I'll get him to come over."
Ye Ci knew that Fleeting Time was a member of Genesis, but his close relationship with Absalom was beyond her knowledge. How can a person summon the leader of the strongest guild in the Western Continent as he pleases? Ye Ci raised her eyebrows. She had a feeling that the Goddess of Luck had actually never abandoned her.
"Tell him that he must come alone." said Ye Ci.
Fleeting Time's smile widened, "Alright. Consider it done."
At that moment, Absalom was leader a 100-player party in a Elite difficulty dungeon. Before they could even reach the first BOSS, Absalom received a message from Fleeting Time. He spoke in an angry tone to the person who caused the misery he suffered at the hands of his wife, "Heh? You want to join us in the dungeon? Do you think that I don't have a replacement for your spot? There's no spot left! If you want to join the dungeon-clearing, report to me three days later!"
Absalom's grumbling was ignored by Fleeting Time, "I want you to get to the Bloody Wilderness now to the coordinates: 7831:4691:28." he said with a smile.
"What?" Absalom was puzzled, "Oi oi oi… You must sending be your message to the wrong person..."
He received yet another message from Fleeting Time, "Please make sure that you're coming alone."
"Oi! Just what the heck are you up to?"