Sacred Snowy Mountain

The purpose of one's presence in a hostile continent had always been a taboo.

Ye Ci would naturally be wary of Rogue Rabbit One. She gave him a cold stare and turned around, but the Warrior grabbed hold of her arm, "You misunderstood me. I'm not really trying to find out why you're here. It's just that…"

"I know." Ye Ci snorted, but she could see the sincerity in his expression, "Let go of me."

Rogue Rabbit One immediately loosened his grip, "Urmm.. Actually… You've bought so many maps from me, I thought the least I could do is to let you know about the situation in our continent."

Ye Ci turned around and narrowed her eyes at Rogue Rabbit One, "What are you trying to tell me? Why would you do that?"

"Eh, just think of it as a post-purchase service. I'm a good merchant after all." chuckled Rogue Rabbit One.

"I'm a player from an opposing continent. Are you sure I won't start any trouble with the intelligence that you're offering?" Ye Ci studied Rogue Rabbit One with eyes narrowed.

Post-purchase service? Is he out of his mind?

"I don't think you alone are capable of starting anything big." Rogue Rabbit One laughed, "I'm merely reminding you that you can't just walk around like it's your home continent. The Northern Continent is in a mess right now."

"Oh?"

"It's something that has happened very recently. A player triggered some sort of quest in the Sacred Snowy Mountain and a lvl160 Yeti BOSS appeared out of nowhere.be careful out there." warned Rogue Rabbit One.

"The Mor Jiami Plains is not really a peaceful place at the moment. The three major guilds in our continent are looking to conquer an abandoned fort, and they are marshalling their forces in their map. A player like you might not be able to make it through the map safely. If you really have to go, you should at least wait for the battle for the fort to be over. There will be less players in the map then, and it'll be safer for you."

Ye Ci was surprised by his words. Wow, these Northern Continent guilds work fast. They're starting the process of taking over abandoned forts, and three of them are converging on the same fort. Thought Ye Ci. So that's why the hoe is so important to Sangharama Shrine. They must have a Potion Maker that is trying to reach Master-tier. The hoe will help in getting higher quality herbs for high tier potions.

A melee between multiple guilds is not a test of the strength of their players, but a showdown of the efficiency of their logistics and resources. The three major guilds were equal in terms of the strength and their players, equipment, and even their logistics.

But a Master-tier potion maker could break the stalemate.

I guess this is what they call "hanging by a thread".

Upwards Ho! was still not as powerful of a major guild, but they were slowly catching up. With Bai Mo and Timely Rain managing the guild, its growth was not a problem that Ye Ci had to worry about. Her only concern was to secure more valuable resources for the guild.

"So I should be safer in the Sacred Snowy Mountain then?"

"If you're looking from the number of enemies you'll run into, yes." Rogue Rabbit One began to analyse the situation from Ye Ci's perspective, "The Yeti is alone, and hiding from a single BOSS is still easier than trying to evade tens of thousands of players."

Ye Ci nodded at his words, "Do you know when the three guilds will begin their attack on the fort?"

"I have no idea. Solo players like myself have no idea of knowing classified information of the major guilds." Rogue Rabbit One shook his head, "You're not going to start something in the midst of those tens of thousands of players are you?"

Ye Ci responded with a laugh, "Thank you for the information. I'll be on my way."

"Thanks for your patronage. You're always welcome to visit my store anytime." Rouge Rabbit One was in an extremely good mood.

With her increased carrying capacity, Ye Ci was able to purchase a good inventory of supplies enough for her trip to the Sacred Snowy Mountain and the Mor Jiami Plains.

She was not planning to spend a lot of time in the surrounding maps. She did not have the time to spare. The new patch was going to be implemented soon, and with it the arrival of Golden Era.

Even when Rogue Rabbit One was a player from a hostile continent, Ye Ci was confident in her judgement of the player's character. The man had no reason to lie to her, and the information that he shared was not exactly a secret and could be obtained by spending a few hundred golds on a random passerby.

Ye Ci made the decision to avoid the Mor Jiami plains as the forces of the three major Northern Continent guilds gathered at the Mor Jiami plains. No matter how good of a player she was, there was no way she could fight off the tens or even hundreds of thousands of players gathered there. Her main objective was the Sacred Snowy Mountain. La'dar's courier quest to the Mor Jiami Plains was not part of Moore's Epic Quest, and a slight delay was inconsequencial.

After weighing her options, Ye Ci headed towards the Sacred Snowy Mountain.

Rogue Rabbit One was a merchant who kept his promises. With the maps leading to her destination already mapped out, Ye Ci was able to traverse through the maps adjacent to the Dor Ami Plains with relative ease. But when the density of hostile player population eventually increased, Ye Ci was forced to continue her way on food and in stealth to the Sacred Snowy Mountains.

It took her three days to finally arrive at the map.

The Sacred Snowy Mountain was situated at the northwest corner of the Northern Continent. It was not the continent's tallest peak, but was well-known throughout the continent due to the presence of Drow and Blood Elves on the mountain.

There were even rumors of an ancient Elven temple at the peak of the mountain guarded by high level Yetis.

Of course, at the stage of the game where the Sacred Snowy Mountain was not fully explored by the players, it was all considered a rumor. Even Ye Ci's maps were merely a brief sketch of the terrain based on the description of adventurers by a Map Maker in one of the major cities, which. Ye Ci would still have to explore the map herself to put more details on her map.

The Sacred Snowy Mountain was a cold place covered by snow. Players might find themselves afflicted by frostbite if they were not careful. That was why Ye Ci purchased a fur coat made specially to resist the cold.

The Hunter class was known for its agility, but Ye Ci's movements were encumbered by the thick clothing keeping her warm. There were still a significant number of Northern Continent players at the foot of the mountain. The area was a spawn point of lvl50 monsters like Snow Tigers and Snow Cats as well as a number of humanoid monsters. The high spawn rate and high rewards were the main attraction for players visiting the map.

Due to the cold weather and the large amount of consumables required to combat the cold, most of the drops found on monsters were potions and food. Players leveling the area might not be able to earn a lot of coins, but they would still not make a loss.

Ye Ci made her way through the leveling zone and ascended the mountain. There were significantly less players at higher altitudes, but those who were present were full of vigor. They were not there to hunt for monsters, and were instead looking for steeds.

The stables in the major cities of each continent were not the only source of horses. Players could purchase lassos from a merchant and capture their own steed. Of course, it was not an easy task. Some of the players lost their temper after multiple failed attempts and ended up killing the steeds, while others were not able to succeed due to level penalties. This was why a map with a high spawn rate for steeds was frequented by players.

With the Northern Continent as an example, the most favorable spot for players to capture their steed was at the foot of the southern corner of the Sacred Snowy Mountain. The area was populated by Snow Horse that could increase a player's movement speed by 120%. It did not have a huge advantage over the horses sold in the stables in terms of stats, but because of the Snow Horse's white fur and the different colors of their eyes, they were favored by female players. This meant that Snow Horses could fetch a high price in the market, and was why players flocked the area in droves. If their luck pulled through and they were able to obtain a horse that had more than 120% movement speed, they would be able to earn a fortune.

Many major guilds saw this as something that was beneath them, but the player population remained enthusiastic. They gathered in groups formed mainly by Hunters and Rangers supported by a Cleric or a Shaman and a tank character like a Warrior or Knight. A group with great teamwork would be able to acquire up to six horses in a single day.

"That one! The one with red eyes! I have a feeling that it's a good one!" Ye Ci could hear the excited voices of players near her. It was a group of five players made up of a Hunter, a Ranger, a Rogue, a Cleric and a Warrior. The Ranger who was at the front of the group was swinging his lasso as he advanced towards a Snow Horse.

"Hurry, Cleric! Cast Slow on that horse! Warrior, move up and cut off its escape route, I'm ready!" shouted the Ranger. His movement was fast. Faster than an average Ranger. Ye ci could tell that he was equipped with speed boosting equipment.

The Cleric's movement speed was slow, but he was a player with good game sense. Instead of following right behind the Ranger, he made a turn to match the horse's change in trajectory while the Warrior charged at the horse from another direction in an attempt to drive it into the encirclement of his party members.

The Hunter and the Rogue on the other hand were on high alert as they scanned the area for other players that might jump them as they captured the horse.

After observing the players for a moment, Ye Ci continued on her way to the top of the mountain. She made her way around the players as it was shown on the map that the main road ahead was populated by lvl80 Snow Bears. It was a leveling spot for larger groups of players, which was something that Ye Ci wanted to avoid.

There was a cliff at the southern side of the mountain inaccessible to players, but with her Cat Claw, Ye Ci was able to ascend the cliff.

Conflict with Northern Continent players was the last thing Ye Ci wanted. It was something that a player who was in the deepest part of hostile territory would avoid at all cost.

But as the Rogue of the party slowly fanned out to the surrounding area, he was inadvertently slowly shifting towards Ye Ci��s direction. She immediately backed off to avoid the Rogue. Despite her good equipment and higher stats, the Rogue class was still a class with very high Perception value. She could easily be detected if she wandered too close to the Rogue.

As the saying goes "everything that can go wrong will go wrong". As Ye Ci tried her best to maneuver away from the Rogue, the Hunter was rapidly approaching her from another direction. Are they equipped with some sort of radar? Why are they always moving to where I am?

The two players were moving closer and closer to Ye Ci, and she was backed into the cliff. The only thing she could do was to hide behind a large icicle and hope for the best. The Hunter did not notice Ye Ci's presence, but the Rogue with his high Perception noticed a presence when he was eight yards away from her hiding spot. He turned around and cast Detection, revealing Ye Ci in his vision.

The Rogue was shocked to see the red glow of a hostile player, "Oh shit! An ambush!" he shouted to the rest of his party.

The other players of the party were shocked. The Ranger was almost able to swing his lasso over the Snow Horse's neck. The sudden appearance of a hostile player might lead to wasted effort.

Despite their initial shock, the party was a veteran of such situations. They did not panic, and the rest of the party with the exception of the Ranger began regrouping on the Rogue's position.

"It's a player from a hostile continent. Be careful, if he can make it here alone, he must be really good." said the Rogue as he backed away from Ye Ci and entered Stealth.

Unlucky! I still got discovered despite my best attempts to avoid that! With the way they're trying to encircle me, I don't think I'll be able to talk myself out of this. I guess I'll have to take them out quickly before more trouble comes my way. Ye Ci sighed internally.

She dashed out from her hiding spot and fired off a few damage over time skills at the Cleric. It was always the same in every fight. The Cleric was always the priority target in a fight, as they were the ones keeping their party members alive. This was why Clerics had the highest casualty rate whenever there was a large scale conflict between players.

The Cleric immediately healed himself up and began maneuvering in a zigzagging pattern. Goddamn it! Thought the Cleric, A couple of hits and I'm almost dead? His damage is unreal! And the Cleric's face paled when he took a look at the combat log, "I think we should fall back."

"What is it?"

"The one who attacked me is Gongzi You! It's Gongzi You of the Eastern Continent!"

"What!"

The worst thing to happen in a fight is distraction and fear, and the Cleric was being affected by both. He was immediately reduced to a corpse lying on the ground in the next second. Ye Ci spared no attention to the Cleric's dropped item. She had to take care of the remaining players as soon as possible.

"I think we should retreat and get some reinforcements." The party's Hunter knew that he was outclassed by Gongzi You.

"Ranger, are you done?" The Warrior knew that they were at a disadvantage, and that it was in the best interest of the party to retreat once the Ranger had successfully captured the horse.

Death would mean a loss in experience points and equipment.

"I need 15 more seconds, hang in there! Grab the Cleric's stuff, don't leave them for Gongzi You!" the Ranger called out to his teammates. He was the leader of the party, and it was his responsibility to minimize the losses suffered by his party.

"Lead Gongzi You to me. If I can land a Staggering Blow on her and stun her, we'll be able to make quick work of her!" shouted the Rogue who had been maintaining a 20 yards distance behind Ye Ci. If the members of his party could force Ye Ci to move at least 5 yards in his direction, he would be able to close the distance between them and hit Ye Ci with his Staggering Blow.

"Understood, leave it to us." Despite their fear of Gongzi You, the Hunter and Warrior of the party understood very well that hesitation would mean death. They began chugging down potions while herding Ye Ci towards the Rogue.

Ye Ci did not react to the rest of the players with overwhelming force out of the need to conserve her arrows. She opted instead to pepper them with lower CD skills that consume less arrows and eventually wear them down. It was like fighting with one of her arms tied behind her back.

A smile appeared on her face as her attacks landed on the Warrior and the Hunter. There's still a Rogue lurking somewhere behind me. What is he trying to do? Is he going to hit me with Staggering Blow? I must not underestimate the prowess of the Rogue. Thought Ye Ci. She knew that her identity was exposed the moment she launched her attack on Cleric. This meant that she could summon Ol' Four into battle without much of a worry.

A whistle rang out followed by the appearance of Ol' Four. Tyrannosaurus Rex could be said to be one of the best pets second only to Dragons, and they possess the ability to intimidate pets of other life forms. As the Hunter's cheetah pounced on Ye Ci, it was swept away by Ol' Four's tail. The cheetah landed on the ground some distance away curling up into a ball and whimpering in pain. It was apparent that it had sustained a large amount of damage.

The Hunter was stunned. Gongzi You was the role model of Hunters, and it was common knowledge that her pet was formidable. He had seen a lot of videos of Ol' Four in action, but fighting against Gongzi You's pet in actual combat was still an entirely different experience. He could already feel a pressure weighing down on his shoulders when they engaged Gongzi You in combat. And with Ol' Four now summoned into the battle, it felt as if the party would buckle under the pressure at any moment.

Gongzi You did not engage them with her high damage skills, and instead chose to harass them with some of her more basic skills. They did not dish out massive amounts of damage, but they were still extremely lethal.

They were instant cast skills with low CD. Despite their significantly lower damage, these skills were deadly if they were used int he right way.

Ye Ci fired off Scorpion Stingers at the Warrior and Hunter in front of her, and directed Ol' Four's attention to the Rogue. Despite his size, Ol' Four had an impressive reaction time. He was more than a match for the Rogue due to his level penalty.

"What the hell? What's with that Scorpion Stinger? My mana is almost completely drained!" the Warrior who had finally closed his gap with Ye Ci was dismayed to find that his mana was almost drained. The character classes in Fate needed mana in combat, and a character's MP was something that was more important than its HP in combat. Having sufficient MP meant that one could still carry on the fight, but once a character's MP was depleted, it meant that the fight was over.

"I don't know! She might have buffs from her equipment. It's that, or her skill's level is very high!"

The Hunter was struggling to keep up with Ye Ci's rapid movements. He was confused when even his most carefully aimed shots were all evaded by Gongzi You.

"Goddamn it!" with a surge of energy, the Warrior finally closed the gap and swung his shield at Ye Ci. His movement appeared to be clumsy, but it was a ruse that would normally fool a player.

But Ye Ci was not a normal player. She stepped slightly to the left as the Warrior raised his shield. The Warrior was confused when Gongzi You disappeared from his view, and he felt a sharp pain on the joints of both his legs in the next second that was accompanied by a system notification, "You have been crippled."

The Warrior was depressed. His mana was drained, he missed his Shield Bash, and he was now crippled by Gongzi You. To add salt to the wound, he was not even able to react to her attack. He was confident that he was a decent player, so why is a fight against Gongzi You so one-sided?

Ye Ci had the need to conserve her Stamina and supplies, which was why she turned away from the Warrior once he was crippled. She eyed the Hunter who was at very low health, and finished her opponent off with an arrow. Her attention was then turned towards the Rogue.

The Rogue was, at the moment, fighting a losing battle against Ol' Four. The beast was fast, its attacks were ferocious, and its defense formidable. Why do I have to fight against something like this! A Warrior would be more suited to handle a life form like this!

"Ranger, retreat as soon as you're done! Don't let her kill you or our efforts here today is wasted!" the crippled Warrior shouted at the Ranger.

With two of his party members dead, one crippled, and another barely holding on, there was nothing the Ranger could do, "I'll get back to the city and return with reinforcements!" he sait through gritted teeth and fled for his life.

"Be careful, Rogue, Gongzi You is headed your way!" the Warrior could only watch helplessly as Ye Ci dashed after the Rogue and finished him off before he could even finish his sentence.

Ol' Four wagged its tail at Ye Ci, excited by its chance to perform once again. Ye Ci threw a chunk of meat at Ol' Four and decided not to give chase to the fleeing ranger.

The Warrior could feel the piercing gaze of Ye Ci's cold stare as she made her way back to the southern cliff. Is this the strength of a top player?

He could tell that Gongzi You did not go all out during the battle, and the disparity of strength between Gongzi You and his party.

The Huntress showed no interest in their equipment. Her interest was on the Ranger who had managed to flee. How is he so fast? What is making him so fast?

The Warrior clenched his fist as he stared at Ye Ci's silhouette. One of these days… I'll become an expert player as well!

A figure in black clock was observing the battle with great interest from a hill some distance away. Heh, never thought that I'd run into someone like this.

Just then, realisation dawned upon him and he snapped his fingers, "Wasn't the one who killed that Sorceress twice a Huntress? How could I have forgotten about it?"

The figure shifted his gaze towards the large dinosaur, "Aiya, Gongzi You, what a mischievous person you are! You made me a scapegoat…" a smile appeared on his face as he turned around and vanished into the bellowing snow.

Ye Ci could feel a gaze on her, but saw nothing but snow as she surveyed her surroundings. It must've been my imagination. Thought Ye Ci as she mounted Ol' Four and made her way to the cliff.

The cliff was not the safest way to ascend the mountain. Most of the rocks had long since been eroded, but they were covered by thick layers of ice due to the cold weather. The ice and snow on the Sacred Snowy Mountain never seem to melt. The mountain had never seen a single summer, and even spring and autumn were short. They brought rain to the mountain, which would be frozen ice when winter came, adding a new layer of frozen rain water to the thick ice covering the mountain.

Ye Ci could see the sunlight refracting off the icicles into a myriad of colors as she stood beside the cliff. Despite the fog and the cold winds, the weather was perfect.

She swung her Cat Claw towards the cliff, and heard a loud clang. It was an indicator that the layer of ice on the cliff was too hard for even the Cat Claw to gain a solid grip.

Ye Ci was not disheartened. She continued to swing her cat claw towards the cliff from different spots in an attempt to look for a spot where the Cat Claw could take hold.

As Ye Ci was trying to ascend the mountain, the General Chat of the Northern Continent was in turmoil. It was flooded with news of a party's encounter with Gongzi You. With the appearance of Spotless Autumn a hot topic, the two top-tier players immediately became the focus of attention.

The spectacle had even attracted the attention of the three major guilds.

Sangharama Shrine…..

"Guild leader, we've received news that Gongzi You had been spotted in the Sacred Snowy Mountain. Do we send some of our men after her?"

"Why would we want to do that?" Sangharama's Grace glanced at Thousand Mile Dream before shifting his attention back to the map sprawled before him.

"But this is the second top-tier player to have appeared in our continent. Don't you think that they're up to something? Besides…" Thousand Mile Dream paused mid-sentence. The missing hoe was a topic that he wanted to avoid.

"So what if they're top players? It's just the two of them. Let them be. We must focus our efforts on the abandoned fortress. Nothing else matters." Sangharama's Grace would not risk the growth of his guild because of two players, "Send somebody over to monitor their movement if you have the time to spare. If they're here to complete a quest, ignore them."