Chapter 014: Danger in Slumber

The Mage’s Legend

Boss was dashing back and forth, scooping up items from the ground and stuffing them into Fourth’s bag. Then Fourth would cram bundles of super magic potions into Lin Jia’s inventory, leaving the two with no empty slots except for the six used to unwrap bundled potions. Their packs were always full, and it actually took them a full two hours of fighting to finally use up all those potions. Boss never stopped for a second—she’d sprint back up to the surface with a bag full of gear, deposit it all in the warehouse, then return carrying a load of magic potions to swap for Fourth’s latest spoils. After two such trips, Lin Jia and Fourth’s inventories were once again so stuffed with super magic potions they could barely move.

It was the first time Fourth and Lin Jia realized just how money-crazed Boss, this girl, could be. At first, she’d been quite obedient—after luring zombies, she’d guard the stairwell and help protect little Mage Lin Jia. But as the loot piled up, she couldn’t contain her excitement and started to run wild!?

Whenever Lin Jia cast a Lightning Spell and zombies exploded on the ground, a pale blue shadow would instantly rush out and, with lightning speed, scoop the loot into her bag before it even touched the ground. Most of the time, Fourth and Lin Jia couldn’t even see what had dropped, and whenever something truly rare appeared, Boss’s near-maniacal laughter would leave her two brothers dripping with cold sweat.

Perhaps she found more joy in selling unwanted loot and buying supplies; Boss Xu Fangfang’s level 18 little Priestess, “Graceful Mist,” took this task upon herself, tirelessly shuttling between the surface and the Fragrant Stone Catacombs, constantly stuffing equipment into the warehouse. Useless low-level gear was dumped into the system shop for cash. With each zombie dropping around 400 gold, by the end of the night, the trio’s assets soared to 280,000 gold, nearly hitting the 300,000 mark.

Because Boss spent most of her time running between the surface and the catacombs, by 7 a.m., her Priestess had only reached halfway to level 19. But Fourth’s Warrior, “Heartless Wind,” and Lin Jia’s little Mage, “Mad Lingjia,” had both managed to reach level 20, instantly upgrading from amateurs to top-tier players. To celebrate, Boss even volunteered to play the spy, sneaking a lap behind the all-night gamers, only to discover the highest among them was level 15, with most hovering at 11 or 12. She was beside herself with excitement.

The open beta for “Legend” had only been live for 25 hours by 7 a.m. Most players, plagued by too many people and too few monsters, lack of funds, and rare equipment, were stuck below level 15. Only a few diehards who’d entered at launch and stayed grinding had reached level 17 or so. For Lin Jia’s trio to stumble across a secret, unclaimed, high-experience, high-drop-rate map and level together was sheer luck—especially considering Lin Jia was nearly blind and hopelessly directionless.

Remember, “Legend” had just launched with a single server. Most MMO fans were still on the fence or hadn’t downloaded the client yet. Only those with the then-still-luxurious home computers or members of major game guilds got in early. With most internet cafes not even having the game installed, reaching level 20 so soon gave the trio a huge advantage.

What’s more, most early players were just experimenting and unlikely to have called friends to play together. Everyone was too busy grinding monsters to bother forming teams. Only players who banded together in internet cafes or guild members would really appreciate the benefits of a well-balanced party.

By morning, the insanely lucky trio was exhausted and half-asleep. Fourth, already dozing, suddenly jerked forward and nearly slammed his head into the monitor. Wiping away drool he’d spilled onto the keyboard, he blinked groggily at the flickering screen, trying to spot his character. “Hey! I can’t take it anymore! Let’s withdraw!” he mumbled.

He waited a while but got no reply. Surprised, he looked around to find Boss still running around excitedly, while Lin Jia, head pressed against the monitor, had fallen asleep with one hand on F1 and the other loosely gripping the mouse, in a classic “Thinker” pose.

Breaking out in cold sweat, Fourth nudged Lin Jia, whose chin was slick with drool, and repeated, “Boss, Second Brother! Let’s call it! I just can’t go on!”

Lin Jia was already done for. He yawned wide enough to show off his lively little uvula, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and muttered tearfully, “Let’s call it quits. The enemy’s too fierce—leave us a way out so we can fight another day…”

Boss burst out laughing at the two clowns and chuckled, “You two are hopeless! Can’t even keep up with me! Come on, let’s split the loot and log out! Hurry up, I’m waiting for you in the castle warehouse…” Suddenly she shouted, “Lin Jia! You’re about to die!”

Boss’s scream jolted Lin Jia out of his drowsiness. Annoyed, he grumbled, “What are you shouting about this early? You’re the one who’s about to die!”

At that moment, Fourth also yelled, “Second Brother! Run! The zombie’s gonna bite you!”

Lin Jia finally snapped to attention and glanced at the screen. At some point during their conversation, a freshly spawned zombie had wandered up to the top of the stairs and was swaying its claws at Lin Jia’s little Mage, who was down to the last sliver of health. Quick on the uptake, Fourth had already swung his sword at the zombie, trying to draw its attention and save Lin Jia’s life.

Panic-stricken, Lin Jia’s hand shook on the mouse and accidentally clicked the ground below the stairs. His little Mage, out of control, darted through the gap between Fourth’s Warrior and the zombie, plunging straight into a newly spawned crowd of zombies at the base of the stairs!

Slashing wildly at the “Assassin” zombie, Fourth couldn’t help but curse aloud, “Damn it!” Fortunately, the fresh zombies reacted slowly, and their attacks were sluggish by nature. By the time they turned to lurch after “Mad Lingjia,” Lin Jia had already regained his wits and, clicking furiously, managed to weave his little Mage—health just a thread—from the horde.

But in his frantic escape, with not a single health potion left, Lin Jia veered deeper into the Fragrant Stone Catacombs, where swathes of Laser Zombies were simultaneously unleashing terrifying laser barrages and shuffling closer, relentlessly pressing in on him.