Chapter 7：Stolen Treasure (1/2)
Liu Ye immediately created his water whip and prepared to defend himself against the incoming enemy but contrary to his thoughts, he wasn't being targeted.
[Masked Bandit - Lvl. 7]
[HP: 200/200]
[MP: 55/100]
Three masked bandits ran in his direction while chasing after a familiar figure.
[Black Rose - Lvl. 4]
[HP: 35/140]
[MP: 15/30]
Looking at Black Rose's critical condition and her pursuers' high levels, Liu Ye couldn't be happier that she stole his quest. Even he would perish if he were to be bombarded with fire missiles this early in the game.
-10
+10
-10
Black Rose clearly used a medium health potion to recover her HP but her back continued to burn with flames as the bandits fired at her nonstop. She blocked some attacks with slashes of wind while dodging the rest, but she still got hit.
Liu Ye couldn't even imagine how much pain the burning caused her and he had no plans on testing it.
He casted his whip away and sprinted in the opposite direction. The bandits would surely switch their target once they killed Black Rose. Liu Ye couldn't stay too close, or else he would be next.
Too bad, today wasn't his lucky day.
”Grind God! Help me!” Black Rose cried out as she followed after him. ”We can defeat them together!”
Was Liu Ye a bad guy for not even turning around to reply? He completely ignored her while randomly changing directions to lose her. She asked for it by messing with him earlier.
”Huh?”
Liu Ye was sure he could outrun her but the sounds of footsteps behind him were growing louder. When he was midair after jumping past a wall of bushes, he looked over his shoulder, and to his surprise, Black Rose was right behind him.
What made it worse, the Masked Bandits were tailing closely behind them.
”So you chose death?! Die then!” a bandit shouted angrily, prompting Liu Ye to swiftly jump to the side.
Swoosh!
Massive waves of heat flew above his head as that bandit spewed flames from his mouth. Black Rose copied Liu Ye's move by rolling to the other side so the cloud of flames completely missed them both.
To his relief, the three bandits were focused on Black Rose and were ignoring him as if he didn't exist to them. Liu Ye expected Black Rose to continue running away after her failed attempt yet she wasn't moving at all. Instead, she tapped on her inner forearm and pulled out a red crystal from her inventory.
”Is this what you want?!” Black Rose questioned loudly as she waved the crystal around. ”One step closer and I will destroy it!”
She seemed confident with her blackmail at first, but the three Masked Bandits were not fazed at all and her show of bravado crumbled.
”You don't even have the strength required to crack it, not to mention destroy it. Our flames can't affect it either, so you have no leverage on us,” the leading bandit replied while his palm burst with fire. ”Any last words?”
”Yes!” Black Rose nodded and exchanged glances with Liu Ye. ”Catch!”
She threw the red crystal to him like a baseball, sending it flying right past the bandits' noses. Liu Ye's hand moved on instinct, blocking the object from hitting his face but he regretted it right after.
[Ding! You accepted a Unique Quest: Stolen Treasure]
Liu Ye couldn't do anything as the crystal appeared in his inventory and the quest forced itself on him, displaying the details on a transparent screen.
[Stolen Treasure]
[You carry a stolen treasure of the Masked Bandits. Fight back, or run for your life!]
[Difficulty: A]
[Quest Clear Conditions: Kill all the Masked Bandits or reach the safety of the Village.]
[Clear Reward: Unknown]
[Quest Failure: -2 Levels]
With just a quick glance, Liu Ye finally understood why the bandits were completely unharmed while Black Rose was running away frantically. With her Air Element and high dexterity, Black Rose probably thought she could outrun them but she underestimated their strength.
While he was distracted, Black Rose sat down as if her limbs had lost strength and waved at him with a weak smile.