Buddies reunited

On a whim, Ye Fengxing typed a private message and sent it to Ironhead Monk.

[Whisper][Ironhead Monk]: Fuck you, telling me to delete my character.

[Ironhead Monk][Whisper]: You're free to choose whatever name you want. First, let me apologize, and then... fuck you! Watch your mouth!

[Whisper][Ironhead Monk]: This is my name now. What are you going to do about it?

[Ironhead Monk][Whisper]: Fine, you're a real badass. Just remember this. Don't regret it later.

Ye Fengxing couldn't help chuckling. Ironhead had a hair-trigger temper. He wasn't normally unreasonable, but once he started, he was practically inhuman.

That "don't regret it later" wasn't just empty talk. The guy always followed through, and he was probably already rounding people up.

Ye Fengxing had always been the sort who loved stirring up trouble...

[Whisper][Ironhead Monk]: Come on, then! I've even washed my face so it's ready for you.

The other side went completely silent.

Fuck! Can't take a joke already? How boring! Ye Fengxing had wanted to tease Ironhead a little longer, but with the guy refusing to speak, there was nothing left to work with.

[Whisper][Ironhead Monk]: All right, I was kidding. Come run a dungeon with me.

Still no response.

[Whisper][Ironhead Monk]: Monk Jiang! You've got five seconds to say something!

[Ironhead Monk][Whisper]: Who the hell are you? How do you know my surname is Jiang? Are you Lan Xi?

[Whisper][Ironhead Monk]: Fuck you, it's me, Ye. Lan Xi hasn't changed his name. Are you stupid?

[Ironhead Monk][Whisper]: You... you're really Ye?

[Whisper][Ironhead Monk]: Monk Jiang! Want me to spam announcements about your glorious past right now? When you were seven, you peeked at someone bathing, and they set a dog on you that clawed up your ass! When you were thirteen, you became a monk, then got into a fight while visiting your family. They called over a nine-year-old junior sister from the Emei Sect, and she beat the shit out of you! When you were fifteen, you were fooling around with your first girlfriend on her family's couch, and her dad caught you and grabbed a stick...

[Ironhead Monk][Whisper]: Bro! You're my big brother! Can we calm down a little? Where are you? Come on, let's go. I'll run a dungeon with you. Which one, Babala?

Ye Fengxing invited Ironhead Monk to the party and asked, "What kind of Warrior are you playing? A tank?" (Tank referred to party members with high defense who could withstand bosses and draw aggro, allowing DPS classes to deal damage safely.)

Ironhead said, "Of course. With a magnificent physique like mine, I was born to be a doorstop." (Doorstop: gaming slang for a tank.)

Ye Fengxing said no more. He had absolutely no doubts about Ironhead's tanking skills.

[Area][One Leaf Windwalk]: Three-man Babala run. Two ready, need a healer. Whisper if you can follow instructions and aren't brain-dead.

Although this was the final stage of his class quest chain, the game was still in its early days. The quest wouldn't be absurdly difficult, and three people might well be enough. Ye Fengxing was very confident, especially with Ironhead around. There shouldn't be any major problems.

Before long, Ye Fengxing recruited a Ranger named Kawaii. Despite the cute name, he was a grown man. After a brief chat, the three agreed to meet directly at the dungeon entrance.

Ye Fengxing arrived near the entrance to the Ghostly Cave and found it already packed with people. Still, Ironhead's rugged appearance stood out so much that a few casual glances were all it took to spot him.

[Party][One Leaf Windwalk]: Head straight inside. It's too chaotic out here.

Ye Fengxing forced his way through the crowd. As soon as he entered the dungeon, he saw the other two already waiting for him.

Kawaii was a level 13 Ranger equipped almost entirely in green gear, and he looked quite formidable. Ironhead had a rusty sheet-metal shield slung at his side and held a crude iron sword covered in nicks. He and Kawaii were staring blankly at each other.

The guy was naturally huge, both tall and fat, with more than a little resemblance to the legendary fellow who had uprooted a willow tree.

Back in the day, "Flowery Monk," "Second Master Lu," "Brother Zhishen," "Constable Lu"... all those nicknames had belonged to their very own Ironhead! Who in Light of Freedom hadn't heard the names he went by?

"Holy shit, you've already got a blue weapon!" Ironhead suddenly exclaimed.

"Quest reward." With an outsider present, Ye Fengxing didn't want to say too much. He simply pointed ahead and said firmly, "Pull."

Ironhead understood his old friend's meaning. He immediately used Charge, bringing his sword down on the head of the level 15 Ghostly Sentinel in front of him. He ignored the other monster beside it. They had worked together so many times that he knew Ye Fengxing's style perfectly.

Sure enough, just as the other Ghostly Sentinel was about to move, a cyclone rose from the ground and lifted it into the air, leaving it unable to budge. Cyclone Bind wasn't just for show.

Ye Fengxing got to work, first applying Flame Devours the Body to the Ghostly Sentinel, then mindlessly spamming Flame Arrow. Just before Flame Devours the Body expired, he blasted it with Explosive Impact and furiously cast Flame Arrow throughout the four-second explosion effect! Then he reapplied Flame Devours the Body and went back to spamming Flame Arrow.

For now, that was the only damage rotation he could use. He hadn't learned the main fire attack skills yet, so he would have to make do.

Since he had only added 15 points to Intelligence, with another 60 base Intelligence and 15 from his equipment, his magic damage was currently just 180. His Magic Device was powerful, though, and with the passive skill Dragon Language Magic Basics, his damage output was still respectable.

Some might wonder why he didn't use Magic Missile. Ye Fengxing had considered that question himself and crunched the numbers carefully.

With Eske's Precious Orb's attack power of 27-37, a Magic Missile could deal roughly 140-155 damage. Flame Arrow's unmodified damage was indeed low, just 105-115, but with Flame Devours the Body applied, that rose to 157-172. Against a target under the explosion effect, it could deal a hefty 210-230 damage.

There was another crucial point: Flame Arrow received a special critical-hit bonus that Magic Missile couldn't come close to matching! Especially against a target under the explosion effect, the 50% critical-hit bonus made crits very frequent. Seeing numbers over 350 pop up was genuinely satisfying!

Most exciting of all was Explosive Impact, which could detonate every fire damage-over-time effect on the target! Of course, only those he had applied himself counted, not anyone else's. His Flame Devours the Body ticked for around 120-130, so one Explosive Impact could hit for more than 600 damage.

Take Kawaii: a level 13 Ranger in full green gear, and he only had 920 HP. If Ye Fengxing fought him in PvP, a single skill could blast away more than half his health. That was undeniably brutal!

The two beasts, Ye Fengxing and Ironhead, quickly finished off both Ghostly Sentinels. Although Ironhead was tanking level 15 vanguard monsters, he barely lost any health. He was a professional-caliber player, after all. Early-game equipment didn't provide much dodge, parry, or block, but he could do those himself!

Kawaii had practically nothing to do on the sidelines. Neither of the other two was losing health, leaving him, the healer, bored out of his mind.

Three Ghostly Sentinels appeared ahead. Ironhead charged in without hesitation as always, and Kawaii perked up at the sight. Finally, he had something to do.

Whoosh! With a rush of wind, Ye Fengxing lifted one Ghostly Sentinel into the air with Cyclone Bind, while another was hit by Chaotic Wind and staggered toward him. Ironhead was still only tanking one Ghostly Sentinel, and still wasn't losing health.

Kawaii narrowed his eyes slightly. He wanted to see exactly what this mage was planning.

The Ghostly Sentinel afflicted by Chaotic Wind finally struggled its way over to Ye Fengxing. Just as it raised its sword, which looked like a scrap of iron, a cyclone howled into existence and swept it into the air.

At the same time, the other Ghostly Sentinel broke free of Cyclone Bind and came sprinting toward Ye Fengxing! It barely managed two steps before his Chaotic Wind hit it, leaving it doing the moonwalk. (Cyclone Bind couldn't affect two targets simultaneously.)

Once this Ghostly Sentinel drew close as well, Ye Fengxing suddenly used Blink, retreating twenty meters.

Kawaii immediately frowned. He didn't quite understand the mage's actions... Since he'd already suspended one monster, why not just keep kiting the other? When it got close, he could Blink forward and keep attacking. Why waste time switching the crowd control back and forth?

And now that the monster was close, he'd Blinked backward. Didn't that put the monster the tank was holding out of range?

Is he showing off? Kawaii wondered, the corners of his mouth lifting in a faint sneer.

Ironhead soon answered Kawaii's doubts with his actions. He used Charge to double back, swung his shield, and smashed it into the head of the unlucky monster affected by Chaotic Wind with a clang! Immediately afterward, flames blazed up around the Ghostly Sentinel, and Ye Fengxing started pouring on the damage again.

Shield Bash: Strike an enemy target with your shield, dealing 41-53 damage, stunning the target for 3 seconds, and reducing its attack speed by 30%. Range: 3 meters. Instant cast. Battle energy cost: 40. Cooldown: 40 seconds.

The monster they had beaten up earlier without quite killing slowly approached Ironhead. It was full of hatred for the burly bald man before it, but unfortunately, his Bone-Shattering effect was still active. It couldn't reach its enemy any faster even if it wanted to.

Bone-Shattering Strike: Strike an enemy target's vulnerable spot, dealing 65-74 damage and reducing its movement speed by 50% and attack speed by 30%. Range: 3 meters. Instant cast. Battle energy cost: 25. Cooldown: 5 seconds.

With nothing to do, Kawaii could only look around. When he did, he got a slight shock: two more Ghostly Sentinels had appeared where Ironhead had originally been tanking. They were patrol monsters, and they were currently taking small, measured steps toward the party. (Patrol monsters: monsters that roamed back and forth rather than staying in a fixed location. Players hated them because their arrival was unpredictable, and commonly called them "110," a warning to teammates not to pull a patrol.)