Even though Liu Ye''s voice didn''t reach everyone, the explosive sounds of the fire missiles were enough to gather the yers'' attention. At this early stage of the game, everyone was eager to fight and explore as they were still learning the ropes of the game.


    "Quick! Help me fight them!" Liu Ye urged as he turned around to face the three bandits. "Let''s bleed them to death!"


    Liu Ye swiftly created another water whip and led the charge, pping the iing attacks one by one. It was much easier to block the projectiles while seeing them but his whip could only handle so much. Steam burst out with each swing, forcing him to renew the whip each time.


    [Ding! Your Elemental Mastery bar is full. You received one Elemental Point.]


    Out of all the moments, his progress bar filled up for the first time, resetting back to 0%. At the same time, other yers finally joined the fight andunched their own abilities at the bandits.


    "Ha! Let''s fuck them up!"


    "The first to die is a pig!"


    One couldn''t underestimate the power of a crowd. The first wave of attacks struck the targets, causing a stream of red numbers to appear above the Masked Bandits.


    -5


    -5


    -6


    -7


    -5


    [Masked Bandit - Lvl. 7]


    [HP: 172/200]


    [MP:15/100]


    Unfortunately, the Masked Bandits were not mere punching bags. Most attacks against them were either countered or dodged while they continued to push forward.


    "Get lost! You are not our enemy!" the leading bandit cried out as he punched multiple times, sending small fireballs at the nearby yers.


    How could they dodge anything with their slow reflexes? The newbie yers burned to death one by one, crushing the crowd''s overall resolve to fight. None of them was used to seeing people burn alive and die in front of their eyes.


    "Don''t stop attacking! They will run out of Mana soon!" Liu Ye pointed out to raise the morale but the bandits quickly responded by pulling out red and blue vials from their bags.


    The bandits could use potions too!


    Liu Ye couldn''t help but roll his eyes when their bars began to fill back up to full. What were the developers thinking? It was as if they were facing real yers instead of—


    Wait, could it be that the yers were being prepared for the chaos they would meet upon entering the maind? Liu Ye wouldn''t be surprised if the whole map outside of the safe cities was a warzone.


    Too bad, Liu Ye had no time to ponder as the three bandits wereing for his head. It was time to stop pretending he was a team yer.


    Run!


    The entrance of the Newbie Vige was already within sight. As long as he crossed the gates, he would lose the bandits'' aggression andplete the quest.


    It wasn''t a hard task with hundreds of yers upying the grasnds, but the idental deaths he caused were concerning. He wouldn''t be hated and targeted by everyer, right?


    "Aaaaaaaaa!!! What are you doing?! I''m burnin—"


    Dead.


    "What are Level 7 bandits doing here—"


    Dead.


    People didn''t even know what struck them before they died. The Masked Bandits gave no fucks when they butchered the pitiful yers that stood on their path.


    "Hey! No-name! What the heck was that?! You killed me!"


    Just as Liu Ye thought he was safe, the yer called ming King came through the gates and blocked his way. He looked pissed off as he threatened with his finger and red like a stern parent.


    He was literally asking for it.


    Without missing a step, Liu Ye grabbed ming King''s arm and yanked the man to swap ces with him.


    "Thanks, man. I will repay youter," Liu Ye acknowledged with a nod. It baffled ming King for a moment but then Liu Ye pushed him backwards, knocking him straight into the three bandits.


    ming King didn''t even have time to curse as his body got bombed with mes the next second. His ''selfless'' sacrifice bought precious time so Liu Ye couldn''t be more thankful.


    [Ding! Quest Stolen Treasure Completed! You received 500 Experience and a Fire Stone.]


    [Ding! Congrattions! You reached Level 5!]


    [Ding! New Unique Quest avable: Arthur''s Treasure.]


    "Hey! Stop right there!"


    Just as Liu Ye crossed the gate, he received multiple notifications and the Vige Guards stepped in. Two green-robed guards stomped on the ground and ripped away head-sized rocks to act as their weapons. When the Masked Bandits saw these NPCs, they quickly backed away, losing interest in their chase.


    Liu Ye naturally followed after them, in hope they would be attacked by other yers, but he overestimated the other yers'' wills. Everyone had already run away as far as they could, trying to avoid the confrontation. He couldn''t me them. Tens of yers were literally and vividly obliterated from existence in front of their eyes.


    It would take a while before they could harden their hearts to face such brutality.


    [Fire Stone] [Locked]


    [Description: A crystal containing pure Fire Element. One can use it to awaken Firebending Art or strengthen their Elemental Mastery. Sess chance might change depending on the yer''s affinity with Fire Element.]


    [Sess Chance: 1%]


    [Requirements: Lvl. 10, Quest: Avatar - Act II]


    "Whoa," Liu Ye muttered in amazement as he inspected the Fire Stone. To think he would receive such a rare item so early in the game.


    The sess chance was the only thing that concerned him. What did the affinity to Fire Element mean? Was there a chance some people had a better sess rate than others?


    Liu Ye quickly pulled out his profile, trying to find a statistic that would disy his affinity to Elements but he couldn''t find anything. He could only sigh and let go of the new item for now since he couldn''t use it yet anyway.


    What piqued Liu Ye''s interest was the chain quest that kept changing depending on what he did.


    [Arthur''s Treasure]


    [You recovered Arthur''s Treasure from the bandits and he would be grateful if you returned it. Since the quest wasn''t issued by him though, you can also keep it for yourself. There is no way Arthur will know if you do, right? In case yer doesn''t decide in time, the system will automatically keep the Fire Stone.]


    [Time left: 00:09:35]


    [Return item.] [Keep item.]


    Liu Ye could see no consequences for either option, forcing him to decide blindly. Thankfully, it wasn''t a tough decision for him.


    [Ding! Quest Arthur''s Treasurepleted. You kept the Fire Stone for yourself.]


    [Ding! Affinity with Arthur the Trader has fallen by 100. You have now be mortal enemies.]


    Liu Ye already expected such a turn of events but what he didn''t expect was a sudden angry shouting from behind.


    "You dirty thief! You stole my treasure! Give it back!"