Double A In Line Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Then You Two Certainly Have a Lot of Fate Between You

Uh… well, you two certainly have a lot of fate between you. Ji Chen sympathized with them for a few seconds before speaking up. At the same time, he felt a slight sense of relief. Although he felt a bit bad for Old Lin, in that moment, he was genuinely glad they weren’t fighting amongst themselves.

Cheng Yan had also wanted to comment on this terrible twist of fate, but Lin Sheng spoke first.

While I am glad you think we are fated, I would rather not have this kind of fate ever again, Lin Sheng said, rolling his eyes.

Cheng Yan looked at Lin Sheng sharply, only to find that Lin Sheng’s expression was perfectly natural, as if he did not find anything wrong with what he had just said.

What fate? Lighthouse, who had just logged in and only caught the last few words, asked curiously. I am a Fish was also clearly ready for some gossip.

It has nothing to do with the game. Let us not talk about it and just do the quest. I do not want to think about that miserable business anymore, Lin Sheng said directly, seeing that everyone was present.

The process for accepting the quest involved first going to the bottom of Moon-viewing Lake to pick a Clean Flower, then putting it in the inventory and bringing it to the blacksmith shop.

At that point, the blacksmith, who usually only handled equipment repairs, would mention her child who had passed away early. The child was buried in her hometown, and the blacksmith hoped you could travel there to place the Clean Flower from your bag beside the child’s grave.

In her hometown, this ritual represented a blessing—the hope that the deceased would have a bright future in their next life.

They firmly believed that the more people who offered this blessing, the happier the deceased would be after reincarnating.

Picking the flower and accepting the quest was not difficult. The only issue was that the merman and the elf kept pestering Ji Chen, the only one willing to talk, because Lin Sheng had not explained what happened earlier. This caused a slight delay on the road.

However, the journey ahead would not be simple. They had to pass through three large maps: Forgotten Cemetery, Putrid Saliva Swamp, and Thorn Garden. Every monster in these maps was high-level and naturally aggressive toward players.

Before finally reaching Luo Village, they also had to navigate a complex terrain—a path made of floating platforms that players jokingly called Cliff Jumping Fun. If a player slipped and fell, they would respawn on the platform but lose a portion of their health.

Naturally, there was no room for error here. The delicate flower would wilt the moment the player took any damage.

The monsters in the Forgotten Cemetery are mostly melee, except for the Bone Mages. Fish, switch to your summoner set first. We will try to avoid the mobs as much as possible. If we cannot, use ranged attacks. If we encounter a Bone Mage, I would rather step into the aggro range of other mobs than get close to it, Lin Sheng specifically instructed the others before they set off.

He looked at Cheng Yan and asked, Have you been to those maps before?

Although Cheng Yan might not be very useful in a boss fight, the group had still brought him along after asking for his opinion. After all, Cheng Yan had said he wanted that flower brooch himself.

What he did not mention was that, aside from his friend studying at the military academy, Cheng Yan did not actually have any other friends in the game. Fighting the boss with Lin Sheng and the others yesterday, even though the result was not great, had actually made him quite happy. Naturally, he did not want to miss out on this group activity.

No, Cheng Yan shook his head and added, I will watch my positioning. I will not cause trouble for you guys.

It is fine. The monster levels on that map are very high, so it is normal that you have not been there. Just stay behind us, observe carefully, and do not rush forward blindly, Lin Sheng said.

Almost the moment he finished speaking, Cheng Yan immediately replied, No problem.

Alright, let us head out.

The group nodded in unison and set off from the northwest of Moon-viewing Village toward the Forgotten Cemetery.

Fish, bring out your summons, Lin Sheng said to the merman when they saw the first Bone Knight.

Hearing this, the merman immediately used a skill to summon his combat pet, a Merman Guard.

Unlike the players, the Merman Guard was a melee pet. This was the strategy they had discussed earlier. Since the mobs in these three large maps were densely packed and had large aggro ranges, it was unrealistic to avoid them entirely.

In such situations, they naturally needed someone to draw aggro, and that person could not be a player. Summons were the perfect choice.

Furthermore, when necessary, they could have the summon draw aggro while the others took the opportunity to run ahead and escape the pursuit.

However, doing so would likely require the summon to be sacrificed.

Fortunately, the merman’s summons were products of a skill, so there was no penalty if they died.

The five of them stepped cautiously into the Forgotten Cemetery.

True to its name, this was a desolate place forgotten by the living creatures of the continent. Restless spirits wandered everywhere, and Ghost Fire traps that would drain health upon contact floated about. This Ghost Fire was easily attracted by the aura of living beings; once a player entered a certain radius, it would drift toward them at high speed.

However, Lin Sheng considered the paths where these Ghost Fires were located to be the safest parts of the cemetery. These things had no complex aggro mechanics; they simply charged straight ahead. Upon hitting a living creature, they would vanish instantly and then respawn in the same spot after a while.

Therefore, when entering the range of the Ghost Fire, they only needed to let the Merman Guard rush forward to attract it. Once they collided, the area would be temporarily safe.

Because of this, their preferred route was near the Ghost Fires, followed by melee mobs like Bone Warriors and Bone Knights. Finally, if they could not avoid it, they would have the merman send his summon into a Bone Mage’s territory to draw aggro while the rest of the team focused their fire to take down the ranged mob as quickly as possible.

Following this strategy, the group successfully protected the white flowers in their bags all the way from the entrance of the cemetery.

It was not until they were about to reach the next map that they all stopped in their tracks.

Right at the boundary between the cemetery and the swamp, a large number of Bone Mages had gathered, tightly sealing off the entire border.

Behind the Bone Mages were the signature elite monsters of the Putrid Saliva Swamp: Dragon-Thorn Murlocs.

These creatures were grayish-green all over, emitting a visible toxic mist. Irregular spikes grew all along their arms and backs.

At first glance, most players would assume they were melee mobs.

This assumption was not entirely wrong, except that these mobs had a ranged attack method: firing the spikes from their bodies.

However, the attack power of the spikes was extremely low. For a fully equipped player, they posed almost no threat.

Many players on the forums had even discussed this, wondering why the developers had designed such a useless skill for an elite monster.

Now, Lin Sheng and the others standing there understood. This useless skill was likely tailor-made for this flower delivery quest.

Hiss, there are way too many of them. Ji Chen sucked in a breath of cold air at the sight of the densely packed monsters wandering at the boundary.

I remember it was not like this the last time I came here, the elf said with some confusion.

It must have been changed during the last version update, the merman said.

Are we still going forward? Cheng Yan asked uncertainly. Can we take a detour?

We definitely have to go forward. You do not know because your level is not high enough, but this path is the only way to the Floating Cliff, the elf replied.

Fish, if your pet gets surrounded by twelve of those monsters, can it hold out? Lin Sheng, who had been silent, suddenly asked.

Uh… twelve? The merman’s tone was one of pure shock. Even if I max out its buffs, it can only last a minute at most.

A minute… that is barely enough. Lin Sheng roughly measured the distance with his eyes and spoke.

Have your pet go over to draw aggro, and we will rush straight through. As he spoke, Lin Sheng raised his hand and cast a speed aura on everyone in the party.

Will this work? I am a Fish muttered under his breath.

I do not know, but I cannot think of a better way, Lin Sheng replied.

Alright then! I am a Fish sighed and began frantically casting buffs on the two Merman Guards in front of him. He did not stop until he had downed two mana potions.

I hope they can hold out a bit longer.

Everyone, get ready. Seeing that the merman was prepared, Lin Sheng said in a low voice.

The others also stopped their explanation of the game map to Cheng Yan and focused all their attention on I am a Fish’s pets.

Just as the two Merman Guards rushed to the edge, the mobs that had been wandering aimlessly in groups all turned their gaze toward them.

Several Bone Mages raised their left hands, letting out low, eerie chants.

Meanwhile, the two Merman Guards continued to charge forward regardless of the danger.

Let us go! Once he was sure the mobs’ aggro was locked, Lin Sheng spoke immediately.

The others, already prepared, bolted forward.

Skeleton-like black mist shot toward the Merman Guards under the mages’ chanting. The murlocs, who had been moving slowly with heavy steps, also stood upright instantly and fired the spikes from their bodies.

Fortunately, all these attacks were aimed at the Merman Guards. The group took this opportunity to dash through the barrage of attacks.

Just as they burst out of the cemetery and entered the swamp, the two struggling Merman Guards finally turned into white light and dissipated into the air.

But even though the Merman Guards had tried to retreat toward the cemetery after drawing the murlocs’ aggro, the distance was still not enough.

The group successfully escaped the detection range of the Bone Mages, but they failed to escape the attack range of the murlocs.

After the Merman Guards disappeared, the Dragon-Thorn Murlocs lost their targets. They turned in unison to look at the five strange players who had intruded into their territory.

The wind-up for firing their spikes had already been triggered. For the group trying to complete the quest, even a slight graze at this moment would mean total failure.

Cheng Yan, who was at the back of the pack due to his stats, stopped in his tracks. He turned to look at the murlocs who were ready to attack and gave up on moving forward.

A deafening beast’s roar echoed from not far behind the four members of the team. The murlocs, who had each locked onto their own targets, all turned toward the giant beastified orc and charged at him.