Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 209 Axia Mist

Western Continent, Genesis guild

The Genesis guild had been farming equipment for their members.. When the dungeon had been cleared, Absalom commented on the performance of his members. “ You guys did a good job today. Axia Mist, great job with interrupting the BOSS’s skill. Your Backstab was timed nicely as well.” he then began looting the BOSS that had just been defeated. A Purple quality Rogue’s dagger was among the loot. “Hmm... Axia Mist seems to have a bit worse than the average equipment in the party. I think this dagger...”

Axia Mist spoke up before Absalom could finish his sentence, “Guild leader, I don’t need that equipment. Can you give me some gold instead?”

This was not the first time Axia Mist refused to receive an equipment after a dungeon raid, and Absalom had turned a blind eye to Axia Mist’s behavior beforehand. “Mist, you do know that your equipment contributes to the overall strength of the guild. You are part of the guild, and the quality of your equipment will affect the guild’s combat power. Shouldn’t you show some team spirit?”

“Guild leader, I know that. But I’m still going to ask for gold instead. I don’t want that dagger.” Axie Mist shook his head.

Absalom wordlessly handed the dagger to another Rogue, while taking 100,000 gold coins from the Rogue to Axia Mist. As Absalom traded the gold coins to Axia Mist, he stared at his young face and said in a serious tone, “Mist, I have to ask, did something happen in real lif-”

“It’s nothing, guild leader. You don’t have to keep guessing. I’ll give you an answer when the time comes.” Absalom was cut off mid sentence by Axia Mist, who accepted the gold coins.

Absalom nodded at Axia Mist, and dismissed the party. He cast a glance at Axia Mist, and walked towards Fleeting Time, who was harvesting meat from the fallen monsters. “Say, do you really need to do this every time you see the carcass of a dead animal? Do you really need that many meat?” said Absalom as he knelt down beside Fleeting Time.

Fleeting Time cast a glance sideways, “Someone who does not have a gluttonous pet has no rights to talk to me about this.”

Absalom could only offer him a smile. He knew the hardships of being a Hunter. Almost every Hunter he knew was doing the same thing. They would scrounge for every ounce of meat they could get their hands on, so that their pets could enjoy better food. Even a God-tier player like Fleeting Time could not escape from such a fate.

“Fine! Can I ask a favor from you?” Absalom knew that this was not a topic that he could have a debate with Fleeting Time, and immediately shifted the conversation.

Fleeting Time did not even stop his movement when he spoke up softly, “If you want me to go have a talk with Axia Mist, then the answer is no.”

“Oi oi oi...” even after his intention was seen through and rejected by Fleeting Time, Absalom did not give up, “Fleeting Time, have you ever been kind?”

“I’m a nice guy! I’ve always been kind.” Fleeting Time did not even look at Absalom as he spoke out the words.

“If you’re kind, you wouldn’t have rejected my request!”

When his words created a silence, Absalom unleashed his inner monk, and began nagging at Fleeting Time, slowly chipping away his mental resistance. Fleeting Time was quite impressed by Absalom. The man could spout streams after streams of nonsense when he was trying to persuade a person or give someone a moral lesson. What impressed Fleeting Time was that he never repeated himself, even while talking about pointless things. He was doing the same thing to Fleeting Time, starting from how God created the world and how it was a sin for Fleeting Time to not help him out.

Even Fleeting Time began to doubt himself after listening to Absalom’s words. Am I really a bad person?

After 20 minutes of nonstop jabbering, Fleeting Time’s will was finally broken. He felt his life slowly seeping away under Absalom’s psychological attack. His life was going to end there and then, and he was slowly heading towards his grave, skipping the part of his life where he could get married and have children.

For the sake of his life, Fleeting Time was forced to agree to Absalom’s request despite his reluctance. He was very fond of the idea of staying alive.

“Fine, fine! Stop the nonsense! What do you want?”

A victorious smile appeared appeared on Absalom’s face when he noticed Fleeting Time’s impatient expression. He was saying the following to Fleeting Time with his smile: Hehe... It wouldn’t have come to this if you just listened to me from the beginning~~ Fleeting Time could feel his anger and the urge to include Absalom into his blacklist slowly rising when he saw that wicked smile.

“It’s actually very simple. I want you to talk to Axia Mist and...”

“You want me to find out why he kept refusing to receive equipment and share the gossip with you am I right?” Fleeting Time cut Absalom off mid sentence and finished the sentence for him.

“Why are you like this? I’m just worried! What do you mean gossip? Do I look like someone who loves gossipping?” Absalom shook his head as a sign of protest.

Fleeting Time snorted with clear disdain, “Is there any difference at all?”

“Whatever! Just go already. I’ll be waiting for you in the conference room.” Absalom immediately urged Fleeting Time to go do his bidding.

“Can’t you do it yourself? I’m not the most suitable person to have a heart-to-heart talk with someone. Don’t you think you’re forcing me to do something very difficult?” Fleeting Time stared at Absalom’s expression, feeling that this face was asking for a beating.

“I’ll give you a bonus this month. A month’s worth of bonus! How bout that?”

Fleeting Time shot him a disdainful glance, “I’m not interested in money lately.”

“So where do your interests lie?” Absalom inched closer to Fleeting Time when he heard his words. Despite his close friendship with Fleeting Time, Absalom knew that his friend hated anything to do with guild administration. He would need to offer some benefits in return for making Fleeting Time to run errands for him.

“Picking up girls.” Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes and stared at Absalom with a glint of mischief in his gaze.

“Ahhhhh!!!” Absalom exploded with excitement. He has known Fleeting Time for more than 12 years, and this man has never shown any interest in the opposite gender at all. He had even began to suspect his friend of being homosexual. The words that left Fleeting Time’s mouth were like red rain pouring down from the sky. “Really? Is that for real? Why do I feel like I’m dreaming?”

Fleeting Time’s mood improved when he saw Absalom’s expression. He secretly enjoyed looking at a person’s crazy expression.

“Dear Lord! Just what the hell is going on with today? Why did I suddenly receive such shocking news? What should I do?” Absalom tore at his hair as he paced back and forth in front of Fleeting Time, basking in his own excitement. He did not even notice the mischievous grin on Fleeting Time’s face. Without warning, Absalom stopped in front of Fleeting Time and rested his hands on Fleeting Time’s shoulders, “Brother, tell me, since when have you become so enlightened?”

Fleeting Time raised his eyebrows.

Absalom then shook his head, “No no no... This is not important. The more important thing is: What sort of girls do you like? Those with big boobs? Those who are flirty? Or those who are young and cute? Or maybe even those girl-next-door types? Just tell me which girl you like and I’ll make sure that I’ll find you a girlfriend like that! We have a lot of beautiful ladies in our guild, and I’m sure that they’re very willing to be your girlfriend. So, which type of girl do you like?”

Fleeting Time held back his laughter and stared deadpan at Absalom. He had always felt that Absalom was the real life embodiment of busybody. It was a shame that he was born with the wrong gender. Absalom would have made a good female guidance counselor. Despite his reluctance to run errands for Absalom, it was very worth to see such a rare expression on his friend.

“Are you sure you want to know?” Fleeting Time raised his eyebrows and let out a sigh, showing a rare sign of hesitance.

“Of course, of course!” Absalom’s head was bobbing up and down enthusiastically.

Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes at Absalom, and for some unknown reasons, a name left his mouth, “I want Gongzi You.”

“Eh?” Absalom was dumbfounded.

Even Fleeting Time himself was surprised by the answer. He had never thought that he would speak of that name. He was simply joking around with Absalom. However, for some reason, the name slipped out of his mouth when he was questioned by Absalom.

Fleeting Time lost interest in making fun of the dumbfounded Absalom. There was a ripple in his heart. A question began to surface in his mind. It was a question that he had no answer for.

Why her? Why did I say her name?

However, when Fleeting Time thought of Gongzi You’s intense and ambitious expression, a smile appeared on his face. When he imagined the face of Gongzi You who was provoked into anger by him, his mouth curved into a cheeky grin. All of a sudden, Fleeting Time’s question was solved. There’s no “why”.

Yup... Gongzi You is definitely the one.

Fleeting Time was never someone to ponder too much on a question. As long as he had an answer that he believed in, he would no longer care about anything else. He would see it as the only answer, and would never have a change of heart.

Absalom could not believe the answer he heard from Fleeting Time. He poke his pinky finger into his ears, digging around. The earwax must have affected my hearing. “Did you just say ‘Gongzi You’?”

“Yup.”

“You must be kidding?”

“Then... Do you think it’ll be better if the name that I said is yours?” Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes, with warning clear in his voice.

“Gongzi You it is then.” Absalom rubbed the bridge of his nose. Although he had always suspected that his friend was not interested in women, he never felt that he could arouse Fleeting Time’s interest.

“Aren’t you going to play mediator? You can go try contacting her for me.” Fleeting Time enjoyed watching Absalom’s shocked expression, and decided to make fun of his friend as he packed the meat up.

“Oi, oi... Are you really talking about that Gongzi You from the Eastern Continent?”

“Isn’t there only one Gongzi You?”

“You can’t be serious!”

“Why can’t I be serious about it?”

“I thought that you were just teasing her for fun! Don’t scare me like that!” Absalom could not bring himself to believe Fleeting Time’s words.

“Have you seen me teasing any other girl before.” said Fleeting Time with a voice full of confidence. He had even almost managed to convince himself.

“But... But...” Absalom knew the truth behind Fleeting Time’s words, but he could not fathom the thoughts of his friend, “Why would you take an interest in someone like Gongzi You? She’s a female player who is crowned as a God-tier player. People like this are either very lascivious or very capable...” Absalom immediately corrected his words when he noticed a glare from Fleeting Time, “Of course, Gongzi You is one of the latter. Why would you like a strong woman like her? Shouldn’t guys like cute and helpless-looking girls?”

“What if I like queens?”

Absalom was lost for words. He could feel liquid flowing in his nose. He felt as if blood was about to burst from his nostrils, “Fleeting Time, you have quite a heavy taste...”

Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes once again. He had a sudden urge to beat Absalom up. Why have he not noticed that his friend of so many years is such a busybody and a pervert?

Paying Fleeting Time no heed, Absalom continued, “Then again... I don’t think Gongzi You has the body figure of a queen. She’s too flat...” before Absalom could finish sentence, he felt a stabbing pain on his face, and he stumbled backwards before falling onto the ground.

“Fleeting Time, you’re crazy!” Absalom sat up a few seconds later, clutching at his nose. This time, it was bleeding for you.

“If you have any inappropriate thoughts about the woman I like, I’ll beat the shit out of you.” Fleeting Time knelt in front of Absalom with a cold smile on his face, “In real life.” he said with a warning tone.

Being beaten up... In real life... Absalom was completely stunned.

By the time he recovered from the shock, Fleeting Time had already stood up and left the dungeon, ignoring the cries from Absalom.

Although he disliked Absalom for being a busybody, Fleeting Time decided to help him out as he had already promised to do so. After leaving the dungeon, he sent a message to Axia Mist, “Where are you?”

“I’m at the bank in the city.”

“Wait for me there.”

“Alright.” Axia Mist let out a sigh. He looked up into the sky at the bright and beautiful sun. His heart was heavy. It seems that certain things can’t be delayed forever.

Before long, Fleeting Time appeared on the back of a white unicorn. Truth to be told, unicorns are the most suitable mounts of Elves. They were elegant and beautiful, had a high movement speed, and were deadly in combat. A unicorn was a mount that not only looked good, but was actually very handy as well.

A mount like this was also very eye-catching. When Fleeting Time entered the city with his unicorn, countless female players squealed in delight at the sight. However, Fleeting Time who was already used to the scene did not even flinch as he made his way to Axia Mist.

Axia Mist immediately realised that his decision of waiting for Fleeting Time in the middle of the street was a very bad idea. Everybody knows that a woman’s envy is most frightening. If the female players knew that Fleeting Time was going to meet up with him, he would be in deep trouble even if he was a male. As expected, Axia Mist could feel countless death glares on himself the moment Fleeting Time stopped in front of him.

“Let’s find somewhere quiet. I have something to ask you.” said Fleeting Time.

The corner of Axia Mist’s mouth twitched, and the dumbest question he had ever asked in his entire life left his mouth, “Do I ride with you?”

Fleeting Time’s expression immediately darkened as he pursed his lips, “I don’t ride with men.”

Axia Mist rubbed the bridge of his nose. Alright, I’m an idiot, “I only have a common mount. I’m not as fast as you.”

“It’s alright, I can wait.” said Fleeting Time as he galloped away, leaving Axia Mist behind. The female players were all pointing at him. There’s nothing going on between me and Fleeting Time! We’re guildmates alright? Can you stop looking at me like that? Axia Mist had the urge to scream when he noticed the stares from the female players.

When Axia Mist arrived at his destination, Fleeting Time was already cooking something by the side of a firepit, with a gigantic bat by his side, staring at the pan on Fleeting Time’s hand. Axia Mist could already smell the aroma of the food from far away.

“Have a seat.” Fleeting Time gestured at a rock in front of him without even lifting his head.

Axia Mist sat down, and could only remain silent..

Just then, Fleeting Time handed a piece of roasted rhinoceros meat to Axia Mist, “Eat while it’s hot. I’ve just learned this recipe. It’s quite good.”

Axia Mist could feel something glaring at him as he took the meat. It was the giant bat that was at Fleeting Time’s side. It was glaring at the piece of meat in his hand. Axia Mist could feel a raging sorrow in his heart. Why does it feel like I’m stealing a pet’s meal?

“Little Five, don’t do that, yours is here.” Fleeting Time patted the bat on its head, and threw a few pieces of meat at him. However, it was apparent that Little Five harbored a grudge against someone who has stolen his meat. It snorted loudly at Axia Mist before lowering its head and began feasting on the meat.

“I’m sure you know why I’m looking for you.” Fleeting Time was indeed not the best person to have a heart to heart with. He immediately went straight to the point, “Say it. Don’t make me ask you.”

Axia Mist sighed, “I don’t know where to start?”

“Are you short of money?” Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes and stared at Axia Mist. He must be very young. There was still some childish features on his face.

“Not really.” Axia Mist smiled, and began eating the roasted meat.

“If you’re facing any difficulties in real life, you can tell me about it. Money is a son of a bitch. Don’t be troubled by it.” said Fleeting Time as he continued munching on the roasted meat, “I have a million coins with me, I hope it’s enough... ”

“Brother Fleeting Time, it’s okay. I’m really not facing any difficulties.” Axia Mist cut Fleeting Time off.

“Then why did you exchange all your gold coins into real world currency?” there are things that Fleeting Time did not ask about, but it did not mean that he was ignorant of it.

Axia Mist spoke up after a long moment of silence, “Brother Fleeting Time, I know that my actions are affecting the combat strength of our guild, but... But... I have my own reasons.”

“Can you tell me about it?”

“Yes.” Axia Mist took in a deep breath, “Brother Fleeting Time, I’m going to transfer to the Eastern Continent.”

Fleeting Time was shocked to hear Axia Mist’s words. He stared at the boy in front of him, completely lost for words. They have actually known each other for years, but had only grown close to each other when they started playing Fate. Axia Mist was a very cheerful person. He was even able to walk out of his sudden depression half a year ago. Although Fleeting Time did not interact a lot with Axia Mist, he knew that the boy was talented. In ten years time, the kid might even be better than him at the game.

“Can you tell me why?”

“Yes. It’s because of my family.” replied Axia Mist after a short moment of hesitation, “I’ve always been playing with you guys after starting the game. You’re like a family to me. This is why I’ve always hesitated to transfer to the Eastern Continent.”

“You must have a very strong reason to go there then.” Fleeting Time smiled, “Although you’re not willing to tell me, but I’m sure that it’s very important to you.”

“Yes. It’s something very important.” Axia Mist nodded. He then grimaced and lowered his head, “I really hate to part with you guys. Especially when I know that you’ll all disappear from my friend list, I really don’t want to go.”

“This is why you don’t want any equipment from the guild?” Fleeting Time’s smile was warm, “You’re afraid that you’ll feel bad if you took the equipment. Or, should I say... You don’t want to feel guilty about it.”

Axia Mist’s vision clouded. Rubbing his eyes, he lowered his head and smiled, “Brother Fleeting Time, can you not be so straightforward?”

“You want me to be indirect? That is for girls. We’re men. We don’t do that.” Fleeting Time laughed.

Axia Mist chuckled, “Says who? Women can be quite straightforward as well.” he then raised his head and gave Fleeting Time a strange smile, “I know of one such lady. She was a very straightforward person, and would always make fun of me and bully me. She was as tough as a man. How annoying.”

“But, you look up to her a lot.” Fleeting Time spoke out Axia Mist’s unspoken words.

Axia Mist remained silent. He sniffed, and his eyes turned red. Fleeting Time let sighed and patted him on his head, “Okay, I did not see that. What’s with that expression? It’s hideous!”

“I know.” Axia Mist rubbed the tears away from his face, his voice was shaky, “I know. You don’t have to tell me that.”

“Do you need me to tell Absalom about this?”

“No, it’s okay.” Axia Mist sniffed. He then raised up his head and stared at Fleeting Time with unyielding eyes, “I’m a man. I don’t need your help for this.”

Fleeting Time stared at the tough little boy in front of him, and felt a pang of sorrow in his heart. He might not be able to see him again. Fleeting Time’s lips began to move, but in the end, he could only say out the following words, “Take care.”

“You too, brother Fleeting Time.”

“When we meet again...” Fleeting time paused before continuing in a light tone, “When we meet again, I’ll not hold back.”

“Me too.” Axia Mist grinned at Fleeting Time, “I’ll defeat you for sure.”

“Heh? You? Hehe...” Fleeting Time smiled, “Alright. You’ll have to work hard for that. Don’t disappoint me.”

A strange expression formed on Axia Mist’s face, “Brother Fleeting Time, Gongzi You is in the Eastern Continent.”

“So what?” Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes. He almost choked on the piece of meat that he was chewing on, trying his best to remain calm. He was definitely caught of guard by Axia Mist’s sudden statement.

“I have a feeling that you’ve been treating her in a special way. Do you need me to gather information about her for you? Every single piece of information...” a smile appeared on Axia Mist’s face. It was a smile full of malicious intent.

Fleeting Time was momentarily stunned. He then chuckled and shook his head, “There’s really nothing going on between me and Gongzi You. You don’t have to do that.”

“Oh, really?” Axia Mist appeared to be slightly disappointed, but his stared was still fixated on Fleeting Time, “There’s really nothing going on between you and Gongzi You?”

Fleeting Time was slightly embarrassed. With a smile, he attempted to steer the conversation away, “We’ve only fought for a few times. There’s nothing going on between us. You think too much.”

Axia Mist sighed, “I thought we could at least keep in touch this way. It seems that I won’t even have the chance to provide you with secret information.”

Fleeting Time could only chuckle as a response. He then let out a sigh. Just what are kids thinking these days? I... I did not show anything right? Right...

After taking his leave, Fleeting Time headed to the leveling area. Before he started his progress, he sent a message to Absalom, to give him a heads up. That guy would definitely lose his mind if he heard the news from Axia Mist without prior warning. However, Fleeting Time had a whole new level of respect to Absalom after listening to his response, “Ah, I see. I thought that he had something against the guild, but was too shy to voice it out. So that’s how it is.”

“What? You sounded like you’ve already expected this.”

“No, I just had a feeling that Axia Mist is going to leave soon. I can’t believe that my feeling is actually correct.” Absalom sighed, “What a shame. He’s a good kid, and a good player. The Eastern Continent is lucky to have a player like him.”

Fleeting Time could only smile wordlessly. In truth, unlike Absalom, there was an unease in Fleeting Time’s heart. He would be losing a comrade soon.

He looked up at sun that was just slowly descending over the horizon, and spurred his Unicorn forward, galloping at full speed towards the setting sun, as if he could leave his sadness behind.

Tan Polang stared at his bank card, at the sum of money within his bank account. He let out a long sigh. Finally, I have earned enough. He had never thought that it would be so expensive to transfer his character to another continent. The whole process cost a whopping 100,000 real life currency! It took him quite a while to collect such a huge amount of money. The people in the Glory Corporation are so despicable!

After retrieving his card from the ATM, Tan Polang carefully placed the card into his wallet. After making sure that he brought his ID, game memory card, and all the necessary documents along, he headed towards his city’s Fate customer service center.

The employees in the service center completed the transferring process quickly. They took only ⅓ of the time it took to wait in the queue. After leaving the service center that was still crammed full of customers, Tan Polang stretched his body. He had finally settled everything. The only thing left to do was to return home and log into the game to give Ye Ci and Bai Mo a surprise.

With that thought in mind, Tan Polang started walking home.

He walked up a flight of stairs and opened the door to his home.

“Dad! Mom! I’m home!” Tan Polang took of his shoes by the door, and called out to his parents. He was shocked when he lowered his head. There were 3 extra pairs of shoes. They seem to be of good quality. Those shoes must be very expensive.

Tan Polang’s curiosity arose. Just what sort of visitors are here?

There was still a short distance from the entrance to the living room, and the short distance that he had to walk today filled Tan Polang with suspense. He was trying to guess the identity of the visitors when he heard a familiar voice.

“Old Ye, Xiaolan, please, just help us out! We’ve been friends for so many years, and I’ve never begged you for anything before. Look, I’m even putting down my pride here. Please help us out.”

I’ve definitely heard that voice somewhere before. Tan Polang inched slowly towards the living room and had a peek. Dong Yin and her parents were seated on the large sofa in the living room, while Ye Nantian and Zuo Xiaolan was sitting on a smaller sofa at the side. Dong Yin’s father grabbed hold of Ye Nantian’s hands, begging for his help.

Tan Polang then spotted Ye Ci. With her back leaning against the window by the television, she stared out absentmindedly. On the other hand, Bai Mo was sitting on a stool, constantly switching channels on the television.

Why are they here? This was Tan Polang’s first thought when he saw the family. Why are they looking for mom and dad? How could a normal family like us help this wealthy family out? Red rain must’ve poured down from the sky! was his second thought.

However, it was apparent that nobody heard his greeting. “Dad, Mom, sister Ye Ci, brother Bai Mo, I’m home!” Tan Polang spoke up again.

“Ah, Polang, you’re back!” Tan Polang was shocked by what happened next, as he was suddenly surrounded by the four members of his family.

“Polang, it’s hot outside, mommy cooked some green bean soup just now. Sit down, let me go get the soup.”

“Honey, why don’t you sit down? You’ve been busy all day long. Let me go get the soup.”

“Polang, I’ve bought a new video game just now. Let me go get it for you.”

“Dear cousin, I’ll go instead. After all, we must respect our elders.”

Tan polang was stunned. His entire family was smiling at him. It was a really strange situation.

In the end, Ye Nantian and Bai Mo lost against Zuo Xiaolan and Ye Ci, and the two women sprinted out of the living room, as if there the air was filled with some sort of deadly virus. The males in the family were left in the living room with their “guests”.

Tan Polang visibly gulped. There was only one thought in his mind.

This is a really, really strange day.

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