When Lixiang the high-level expert arrived at the imperial palace, he saw five players waiting there. The five of them wore indifferent expressions and glanced toward him from time to time.
Standing before the gates of the imperial palace, Lixiang couldn't help a sigh of admiration. This magnificent architecture had long since been obliterated in reality, yet here it was perfectly restored. Lixiang even walked up to the gates and touched them; they felt cold and heavy, evidently cast straight from solid pig iron.
"Alright, everyone is here. If you have no objections, I'll start the teleportation." The Mage nodded in a friendly manner toward Lixiang, his expression softening quite a bit.
The five people, who had been waiting for quite some time, immediately gathered together. This Gold-Panning Plain was likely a dungeon; they had to be extremely careful upon being teleported there, lest they get wiped out the moment they stepped outside.
Their experience was incomparably rich. Drawing their weapons, they exchanged a quick glance and nodded slightly. Only then did King's Return speak up: "We're ready."
Only then did Lixiang feel a bit embarrassed, realizing these people had been waiting right here for him. He hurried over as well.
"Hurry up and join the party." King's Return glared at Lixiang with satisfaction.
"How is he only level thirteen?" Fengyun Die frowned slightly.
Seeing Lixiang clad entirely in starter gear, they were left completely speechless. From head to toe, aside from that pair of straw sandals which weren't standard-issue gear provided by the system, even his survival-essential staff was the most basic starter staff.
"Even if the party has to have a Priest, you can't just randomly bring someone this trashy." Yingzheng was a veteran guild leader. Although he hadn't established a guild yet, he knew very well how much HP a level-thirteen Priest could restore; it definitely wouldn't be much better than drinking a potion himself.
However, though dissatisfied in their hearts, these people possessed quite decent basic qualities. At the very least, Lixiang couldn't detect any overt hostility from them. Furthermore, the party leader King's Return and Yingzheng reached into their pockets and handed him a few pieces of equipment.
Working together to complete a quest meant they were teammates. They were experts in the game, absolute professional gamers, and their immediate thought was how to boost this Priest's combat effectiveness.
Even with internal dissatisfaction, they had to accept it, and furthermore maximize the value of this Priest.
"Thanks, I don't need this gear. I really can't take it." Lixiang looked at the equipment; almost all of it was green-tier gear, but a person had his own dignity and principles. Ancient scholars refused to accept food doled out in contempt to uphold their integrity, let alone him.
"This is driving me crazy. Just take it when you're given it, unless you want to die and ruin our party's quest rating!" Fengyun Die couldn't help snapping.
"Just take it, we don't have any use for this gear anyway," added Purple Lily calmly, having remained silent until now.
"Alright then." The moment Lixiang put the equipment on, he immediately felt different. It was as if he had taken a stimulant; he felt an endless surge of strength. The only pity was that these pieces of gear simply provided modest boosts to HP and MP without adding a single point of intelligence.
King's Return said, "If we're ready, let's head out."
At that moment, as if remembering something, Lixiang immediately walked up to the Mage and asked, "Respected Mage, the Gold-Panning Plain is over two hundred and forty kilometers away, and those bandit groups surely won't stay put in one place. Do you happen to have any intelligence on them?"
I Am Kind had asked this exact same question previously, but unfortunately, the Mage hadn't even batted an eye back then. After Lixiang asked, the others inwardly sneered. But the next second, their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
"That bandit leader Bill used to be the vice president of the Guyue Empire's Thieves' Guild. His most formidable combat technique is stealth, so you must be careful." The Mage looked at Lixiang with great benevolence. A Draenei was someone who could sit on equal footing with the empire's Grand Dukes; secondly, because Lixiang had already attained Level Three Revered status with the Light Faction, he had to show some respect regardless.
"Take this map, I hope it can be of some help to you." The Mage produced a rolled-up map from inside his robes and smiled as he watched Lixiang put it away, before finally calling for everyone to get ready.
The five of them felt inwardly astonished, especially King's Return and Yingzheng, who gazed at Lixiang for a long time with a dawning sense of realization. To take on this quest at level thirteen meant he either possessed a hidden class or had triggered some hidden conditions; such a person could not be made an enemy, even if they couldn't be recruited.
***
The group emerged from the teleportation array in a daze. Before them lay a vast expanse of plain, as if they had arrived on a great prairie; it instantly made everyone feel open-chested and in high spirits.
Beneath their feet was soft green grass, the tallest blades barely rising above their ankles. A few greyish-yellow wild hares darted into the brush in a panic upon being startled. In the distance, several huge male lions stood up lazily, glanced over in their direction, yawned wide, and flopped back down onto the ground.
"This is the prairie! Just like my hometown, so beautiful." Purple Lily stamped her feet on the ground happily. She was originally a Mongolian girl, and her grandfather still lived on the Hulunbuir Grassland, so when entering the game, she hadn't hesitated to choose Archer among Hunters and Archers.
Setting aside their inner arrogance, all of them wore smiles on their faces.
Lixiang, following behind, furrowed his brow slightly. It seemed this so-called ordinary quest wasn't going to be so simple to complete. In such a massive area, even with a map, it would take a tremendous amount of effort to find that bandit group. Moreover, judging by the current look of things, the beasts on this prairie were at least level twenty—he was in danger.
King's Return gave a light cough and said, "Alright, let's divide the labor."
The group gathered into a huddle. "Hunter first, Warrior second, Archer third, me fourth, and Thieves last. Priest wherever." He glanced at the others. "Any problems?"
"Since there are none, let's move out." King's Return took the map from Lixiang's hand. Their primary objective right now was the main road; merchant caravans were bound to travel along the main road, and if bandits wanted to rob them, they had to travel the main road as well.
Lixiang followed at the very rear. Normally, the Priest should be in the middle of the formation, but Lixiang's utility was truly minimal.
They had barely walked a mile when suddenly the greyish expanse ahead began to churn. Then, accompanied by a chorus of piercing shrieks, a grey wave surged toward them.
Purple Lily flipped the large bow in her hand, nocked an arrow onto her right hand, and said with a solemn expression, "It's a wolf pack!"
Fengyun Die, who had been trailing at the very back, gripped a pair of short daggers in a reverse and forward grip and vaulted to the front. "They're Level 20 Steppe Grey Wolves, about eighty of them."
Peak Yingzheng slowly drew his greatsword, glanced at King's Return, and said indifferently, "Let these wolves prove whose sword is faster—yours or mine."
All five of them struck simultaneously.
Purple Lily raised her right hand high, pulled back slightly, and released. Like a shooting star, she shot a large grey wolf dead ahead flying straight back. At the same time, with a flick of her hands, another arrow instantly riddled the airborne grey wolf into a shower of blood.
Beneath I Am Kind's feet, a gigantic golden Soul-Rending Spider materialized out of nowhere.
King's Return and Yingzheng charged straight into the wolf pack from left and right. Although these grey wolves lunged forward from afar, the two men either cleaved them straight in two or batted them flying.
It had to be said that these two warriors were vastly stronger than that Yanwu Pojun fellow Lixiang had seen before.
What surprised Lixiang the most was the girl called Fengyun Die. Lixiang knew she was an assassin of the Thief class; this kind of class was supposed to specialize in sneak attacks, or so he thought. Yet right now, this female thief was undoubtedly fiercer than the two warrior big brothers.
In Lixiang's eyes, she was simply a blur of light. With a sharp cry, she charged straight into the darkest and densest part of the wolf pack—not even King's Return would have had such courage.
Even more impressive was the fact that those giant wolves didn't even get a chance to bare their claws before a flurry of attacks sent them rolling over and over until they turned into white light of death.