Reign of the Hunters
chapter-437-30041322

“Do you know what little Latal is capable of?” Naga smiled innocently like a child, but his voice sounded menacing to Ye Ci’s ears.

Ye Ci did not turn around to face him, and instead she took in a deep breathing while repeatedly telling herself to calm down. She did not want her judgement to be clouded by the BOSS NPC standing behind her, and gaining the most out of a disadvantageous position.

But Naga was not angered by Ye Ci’s show of indifference, “Latal always had a large appetite. He likes to eat even when he’s not hungry. And now that he’s finally released after being imprisoned in the void for such a long time… I’m sure that he will definitely help himself to a feast.” Naga rubbed his chin and sighed, “Latal is so cute when he eats. I’ve never seen him doing it for so many years. What good luck we both have, Elf. I’m sure you’ll love him just like me.”

Ye Ci cast an icy gaze at Naga before returning her attention to the gigantic scorpion Latal that was making its way through the ranks of players. It wandered the battlefield randomly, knocking down players in its stampede, and would occasionally scoop the occasional player up with its pincers before putting them into its mouth.

While the sound of the battlefield could not make its way to Ye Ci’s ears, she could tell that it was not going well for her alliance.

“By the way, Elf, do you know what Latal’s favourite food is?” Naga grinned at Ye Ci who was very reluctant to give him a response.

Does he mean players? Well if he’s asking, this means that it’s not as simple as just eating a player’s corpse. She cast a sideways glance to Naga and spoke to the NPC, “Can you just say it all at once? Must you really wait for a response before you can continue speaking?”

Naga rubbed the bridge of his nose in embarrassment, but he was not angry. He let out a sigh at Ye Ci and shook his head, “Dau’er is way cuter than you. He’ll always respond to whatever I say, even if it’s with an insult or out of anger. At least I’m getting something out of him. Are all the Elves like you? Things will be very boring.”

Ye Ci had a strong urge to roll her eyes at Naga. Is this the demon lord feared by all the NPCs across the land? Why is he so shameless? And why is he always beating around the bush when he speaks?

“Latal’s food is not a person’s flesh.” Naga, who was finally aware of Ye Ci’s annoyance, went straight to the point, “What he feasts on, is a person’s potential. You might not understand what it means, so allow me to explain it to you in a way that you will understand.” said Naga, “Latal’s food is what you adventurers know as Experience Points.”

The words sent chills down Ye Ci’s spine. She had seen such a trait on monsters in her last life. A player who died to monsters with the “Experience Absorption” trait would lose many times more the EXP than they would to a normal death. But these monsters were still considerably weak and relatively rare in the game.

Based on Latal’s level and stats however, Ye Ci could tell that the EXP it devoured upon killing a player was way greater than the monsters she had encountered in her last life. It was virtually invulnerable to the players at the current stage of the game as nobody was able to break its defence. It was a one-sided slaughter.

Ye Ci continued watching the scene unfold. A beast like Latal could easily go out of control and turn on its summoner. But Latal continued its stampede through the lines of Upwards Ho! and its allies even as Ye Ci continued staring at the battlefield.

This was a sign that the main summoner of Golden Era was a very skillful player with a lot of experience under his belt. She knew very well that this would result in heavy casualties among players of the alliance.

To make matters worse, Latal would absorb the experience points of its prey. Players who died to the scorpion would never just lose a single level. It was entirely possible that its victim could lose up to a staggering ten levels on each death.

If Latal’s rampage was not stopped, the guild ranking of the entire Eastern Continent would be rewritten after the battle.

And if that happened, all hopes would be lost. Upwards Ho! would never be able to recover from the blow. She could not allow Upwards Ho! to crumble into dust.

The strength of a single player was never worth the sacrifice of an entire guild.

Memories of a certain night in her last life flashed in her mind. She could see the smiling face of a Glory employee who could barely hide his disdain for her, “I’m sorry Miss Ye, but players without a team are not allowed to take part in this tournament.”

Fate was a strange thing. It would always place trials on a person’s path that would place the person in a position where hard choices must be made.

Ye Ci made the wrong choice in her last life, but she was given a second chance.

“Naga, what do you need from me?” she smiled at the NPC standing behind her.

Naga grinned at Ye Ci. The smile on his face was prettier than even the most beautiful flower in the world. No one would have thought that he was the evil demon lord when they laid their eyes upon his expression, “Oh? You seem very certain that I’ll help you.”

“I do not have much time, Naga. I need to save my allies.” she took in a deep breath, “You brought me here because you need me to do something for you. Help me stop Latal, and I will do your bidding.”

“Interesting.” Naga tilted his head, and he took a seat on the chair that had materialized behind him again, “You’re way more interesting than Dau’er will ever be.”

The NPC chuckled, “So… Does it mean that you’re willingly subjecting yourself to me?”

“Yes.” Ye Ci nodded.

“That’s strange, I’ve always thought that nobody is willing to allow themselves to be used.”

“What use is there for a person to be alive, if he or she does not even have the value of being used?” Ye Ci snorted.

She was acting calmly, but her heart was filled with anxiety. Naga was simply too smart of an NPC for her to handle.

“Very interesting indeed.” Naga narrowed his eyes. A strong gust of wind caused the NPC’s golden flowing hair to sway. He looked just like a living portrait at that very moment, “Very well. Since you’ve asked for my help, it’ll be very discourteous of me to refuse.”

A basin filled with black liquid appeared before Ye Ci with the wave of his hand, “Wash your hands in it.”

Ye Ci eyed Naga suspiciously, and immersed her hands into the basin. Not a single drop of liquid remained on her hands as she pulled them away. She looked at her hands, and noticed that the Mysterious Ring that she wore had changed in appearance.

The ring had completely lost its form. It became a corporeal black mist that surrounded Ye Ci’s finger that would dissipate whenever she moved and reappear when she remained still.

She was shocked when she looked at the stats.

Naga’s Ring (Divine Artifact):

+300 to all stats

Skills:

Invisibility, Duration: 1 minute, Cooldown: 3 minutes (Active)

Featherfall (Active)

Dark Summon. Duration: 1 hour, Cooldown: 24 hours. Cost: 10,000 Souls. (Active)

Soul Absorption (Passive)

Agent of the Demon Lord (Passive)

With the exception of Featherfall and Invisibility, Ye Ci was not familiar with the three other skills on the ring. To her, calling the ring a ‘Divine Artifact’ was an exaggeration. While the additional 300 points to her stats was useful, there was no other buffs to her combat related stats.

But the ring known as Naga’s Ring was recognized as a Divine Artifact. This meant that it was closely related to Naga, and could work in ways that Ye Ci would have to discover.

Naga smiled at Ye Ci and spoke, “I know you’re in a hurry. Go. We shall meet again once you win your battle. I’ll tell you what I need from you.”

And with that, color returned to Ye Ci’s world, and the option for her to revive appeared in her vision. She immediately selected ‘Yes’ and immediately stood up.

Relief washed over Fleeting Time when Ye Ci revived.

“I know you have questions for me, but we’re running out of time. Golden Era has successfully summoned their monster, and we need to find a way to stop it.” said Ye Ci before he could ask her a question.

“Alright then. What do you have in mind. Things do not sound great over there. The casualties must be very high.”

Ye Ci eyed the ring and responded with a grave expression, “I have no idea myself.”