Game’s Dogma

Good clerics weren’t those that blindly healed their teammates until they were at full Health. They also had to carefully consider how much Health they could heal with their skills, their cooldown time, and backup measures for unexpected situations. If a cleric used all his healing skills at the same time, he would be rendered helpless when his enemies suddenly focus all their attacks on one particular teammate.

An outstanding cleric always reserved a skill or two for emergencies, which was why keeping members at 70 to 80 per cent Health was known as the perfect threshold.

Fong Sai Yuk set his sights on Greenstone.

In that case, I’ll pick off your cleric as well! The guy with a greatsword and the wolf man are strong, but without receiving heals from that cleric, they will fall like flies soon enough. Gotta act fast!

There were… three enemies.

Three? Fong Sai Yuk was full of spirit. So what?

He planted his foot onto the ground and launched himself forwards at Greenstone. Idyllic Poet, Zephyrwolf, and Danting all had strange looks as they glanced at the confident young man. They weren’t sure what to say about him.

‘This guy’s so dead.’

Drako Yau was a bit dazed as he looked at Fong Sai Yuk who was charging straight at him. Hm, not bad at all. He’s got the vigour and spirit which I lack. Maybe I really am old.

‘Poet, take care of the monsters. I’ll deal with this kid.’ He then retracted his spear and went ahead to engage Fong Sai Yuk.

Fong Sai Yuk was surprised that the spearman had the courage to take him on; he thought the guy was just a leecher in their squad.

Right, those country bumpkins wouldn’t know how powerful my Pugilist class is!

‘Get out of the way and I’ll spare your life!’ Fong Sai Yuk said, all while thrusting his palm out.

Shattering Palm, Level 15 Pugilist skill. Deals damage and causes internal injury, dealing damage over time.

Drako Yau’s eyes lit up as though he had found a wonderful prey and put his spear away.

What’s this guy doing?

Fong Sai Yuk wasn’t the only one with doubts; even Zephyrwolf and the rest who were observing the battle as they fought weren’t sure what he was up to.

As the palm shrouded in a grey aura approached Drako Yau, he lowered his elbow and wrapped his arm around Fong Sai Yuk’s forearm like a snake, entangling his palm strike in a split second. The strike went under Drako Yau’s armpit and struck nothing but air.

The two of them now in close proximity, Drako Yau could see how startled Fong Sai Yuk was; he couldn’t help but be disappointed.

This guy is just purely casting his skill.

Clamping Fong Sai Yuk’s arm with his right arm, Drako Yau clenched his left fist and sent an uppercut at the pugilist’s jaw.

‘This guy!’ Fong Sai Yuk tried to pull himself away, but his arm was still caught by the masked man. He quickly snapped a low kick at Drako Yau’s legs.

Soaring Kick, Level 5 Pugilist skill. Has a knockdown effect.

However, as though he could foresee it, Drako Yau reacted with a front kick using his right leg. His kick was the first to connect, and it forcefully ended Fong Sai Yuk’s chambered kick—he parried the kick with a kick of his own.

His left uppercut also connected with Fong Sai Yuk’s lower jaw. He let his arm loose for half a second, transitioning from entanglement to grappling. The next moment, he picked up Fong Sai Yuk’s right leg and slammed the young man into the ground like dumping garbage.

Bang!

Drako Yau pressed on with his superiority. Fong Sai Yuk tried to retaliate, but his right wrist was met with a stomp, followed by a palm strike to his chest.

Blood spewed from his mouth; it was so realistic that it looked hardly like a game. For the sake of reality, internal injuries dealt by blunt attacks like fists and kicks made players spew blood.

Drako Yau’s mask was dyed in a layer of blood, but he was still as calm as ever. He mounted onto Fong Sai Yuk’s upper torso and started raining fists on the poor lad’s head.

Fong Sai Yuk no longer had the means nor energy to fight back. A speech bubble appeared above Drako Yau, saying, ‘Kid, you messed with the wrong guy.’ He sent a final palm strike at his skull, shattering him into a lump of white particles.

His palm and fist strikes weren’t buffed by Spear Mastery, but he had equipped Moon Gazer the entire time, just that he didn’t attack with it. With Moon Gazer’s Attack stat and the basic attack buff from Might, Drako Yau easily decimated Fong Sai Yuk.

‘Alright, alright. Just do as I say! I’ve got something important to do, let’s call it an end’, Sky Chun said to his assistant in his company, then ended the call.

He went through the important document on his table, signed his signature, and sent the document back. After finally getting everything done, he leaned back on his chair and let out a long sigh, but his relief lasted for less than a second.

‘Damn, the new year event!’ He quickly took out his brainwave helmet and entered the game.

Moments after entering the game, he noticed that every member who had followed him to the Highlands of John were now back at Empyreon.

‘What’s wrong, why are you all back at the city… Wait! Did all of you lose a level?’

Sky Chun was in a really bad mood. Those who joined him in his expedition were all core members of the guild, and it would take almost three days to regain the lost levels. By the time they recovered, they would have been left behind by others.

‘What exactly happened? Is it Allurers?’ Sky Chun’s tone started to turn harsh while killing intent filled his voice. If his brother-in-arms were getting bullied, he’d stand up for them even if it meant shedding blood.

Zephyrwolf and Idyllic Poet were both staring at Drako Yau as if he was a monster. Their gazes were quite discomforting to be honest.

‘What are you two staring at?’

Zephyrwolf replied, ‘Thought you were a mad lad, turns out it’s more than that. How did you even beat a pugilist in a goddamn fist fight?’ 

Danting giggled and had a proud look as he said, ‘The boss’ a god. There’s nothing he can’t do. You newbies should learn from me. The first iron-clad rule is “Trust the boss”.’

At that moment, Idyllic Poet smiled. ‘Boss, someone’s calling for you.’

‘Hm.’

‘It’s Sky Chun.’

Drako Yau squinted his eyes. ‘Answer the call.’

Idyllic Poet nodded and took out her phone which projected a 3D hologram of Sky Chun.

‘Greetings to you all. Hello, Mister Mask.’

If Sky Chun couldn’t figure out it was the famous Mask that they had encountered even after the fight, he wouldn’t be qualified as Sky Dominion’s guild master.

A speech bubble popped up above Drako Yau. ‘Master Chun, how may I help you? Or perhaps you’re here to stand up for your guild members?’

Sky Chun chuckled and made a salute with his fists. ‘Of course not, it is our fault in the first place. We are in the process of handing out punishments already. Also, in the name of Sky Dominion, we will pay you a compensation of 100,000 dollars. Will you let it slide in that case?’

‘Oh? You won’t blame me for killing your guild’s core members?’

Sky Chun shook his head. ‘I’m no judge or whatnot, but I can at least tell what’s right and what’s wrong. That impetuous Fong Sai Yuk actually dared to seize a levelling zone which was occupied by others. It is a violation against our principles. Right now, all I hope is that this incident will not sow discord between us.’

Drako Yau also shook his head. ‘It’s alright. Those punishments and compensation, I don’t need them. I won’t take this incident to heart.’

Sky Chun sighed in relief. ‘Mask, you have such a big heart. I’m really thankful for that. If you need help in the future, you can always look for me.’

‘Thanks for calling.’ Drako Yau also saluted before they both ended the call. He then turned to his squad members and said, ‘Let’s continue with the event.’