"Damn, it got me!" the injured NPC cursed as he jumped back and immediately scolded his friends when they moved to help him. "Ignore me and kill it! You know I'm already dead!"
All four of them turned grim before awakening their fighting spirits as they attacked the King Scorpion with pure anger. "Die!"
Liu Ye couldn't help but think it was all part of the Quest scenario. Or rather, a punishment from the Game AI for attempting to change its quest with his wits. Liu Ye didn't plan on losing his newly gained level though and rushed to the man's side with the Ice Serpent already in his hand.
"I can help you! Lower your arm!" Liu Ye ordered sternly as he grabbed the NPC's wrist and cut off his long sleeve. The wounded forearm already darkened as the venom began to spread with the bloodstream.
Liu Ye didn't hesitate to stab his dagger on the wound.
"What are you doing?!" the NPC questioned angrily as he winced from pain but Liu Ye ignored him. He watched as the bloodstream froze while the NPC's HP kept dropping 1% every second and sighed in relief when the darkening stopped.
He knew that it could possibly cause some internal damage but that was all he had at his disposal.
"Quick, drink it," Liu Ye hurried as he poured a Medium Health Potion in the NPC's mouth and pulled out the Ice Serpent before the freezing moved up his forearm. The potion was nothing with the NPC's 5,000 HP but it gave Liu Ye a few precious seconds he could use.
[Zac the Sand Warrior - Lvl 35]
[HP: 550/5000]
[MP: 435/1300]
"Don't waste your time on me," Zac muttered weakly as his face paled. "There is no antidote for the King Scorpion's venom. Just help my boys kill it…"
"I froze the bloodstream in your forearm before the venom could spread. I will not let you die," Liu Ye assured as he waited a few more seconds before freezing him again. "Do you have some better Health Potions? I'm going to keep you alive till we can get you back to safety."
Zac gazed at him speechlessly and looked down at his arm. Seeing the darkness of the venom stopped spreading, he suddenly regained some hope.
"Yeah, I still have a few…" Zac replied as he reached to his pouch and drank a potion. Compared to his own, Zac's potion recovered 100 HP every second which made Liu Ye wonder where he got them.
Just as he was about to ask, Zac took a deep breath and informed, "If it starts to go out of control, just amputate my arm. I really don't think we can reach the capital in time. If not for the venom, my arm will be useless due to being frozen for too long. I doubt the healers can bring it back to normal or even extract the venom."
"This is out of the question," Liu Ye denied as he stabbed him once again. "I promised to bring you back safely and I will."
Zac didn't even feel the pain anymore as his arm was numb. It would be best if Liu Ye could just cut off the arm but the Game AI would definitely consider it as the quest failure.
The situation with the King Scorpion wasn't looking good either. Without Zac, the four Sand Warriors couldn't even deal any damage as the giant scorpion kept dodging or smacking their abilities with its claws.
"They can't do it alone... I need to help them," Zac muttered to himself as he tried to Firebend with his other arm but Liu Ye quickly stopped him.
"I will handle this."
He had his own stash of new Mana Potions so he could spam abilities for hours. Every ten seconds he stabbed Zac with the Ice Serpent to keep his arm frozen before using the time in between to throw as many Ice Spears as he could.
"Keep using the fire to force it back! I will slowly kill it with my spears!" Liu Ye ordered while hoping no other Sand Warriors gets stung. If that were to happen, he would be forced to abandon the quest on the spot and take the free first clear reward to cheer himself up.
Thankfully, with each passing minute, the situation looked more and more promising. Liu Ye was able to chip away a 1,000 HP every minute, causing the Sand Warriors to get ecstatic.
6000 HP!
The moment Liu Ye noticed the King Scorpion dropped below 20%, he couldn't help but share the NPC's enthusiasm. He created one more Ice Spear, waited for the Sand Warrior to fire their flames and…
[Ding! King Scorpion turned Berserk! It will no longer fear flames and attack without hesitation.]
Liu Ye received a notification that suddenly changed the rules of the battle.
Bang!
King Scorpion jumped into the flames and smacked all four Sand Warriors with its claws.
-500!
-500!
-500!
-500!
The hit alone took 10% of their HP and they slammed hard against the canyon walls. They couldn't even get up when King Scorpion charged with its stinger ready to stab them to death.
Liu Ye felt as if his time has slowed down when his body lunged forward. He tightened his grip on the Ice Spear and slid on the ice slide to close the distance faster. It was obvious he wouldn't be faster but Liu Ye only needed a good angle to finish the job.
He didn't even have that ability mastered but he gathered his water and froze it in the shape of the ramp to launch himself in the air. When it came to his aim and hand coordination, he only knew Xu Yue who could compete with him.
All or nothing!
The Ice Spear left his hand and flew in an arc above the King Scorpion. Liu Ye threw it in front of the target, expecting the King Scorpion to run straight into his spear. He was still in the air when the King Scorpion suddenly halted.
"Fuc—" He was already cursing under his breath when the King Scorpion dashed at the Sand Warriors with its stinger extended. It seemed too focused on its targets that it didn't notice a small Ice Spear heading straight for its head.
-5935!
[Ding! You killed the King Scorpion. You received 13,000 Experience, 35 gold, Earth Stone, and a bottle of King Scorpion's Venom. Due to the difference of 13 levels, you earned 3,000 bonus Experience.]
That was the first time Liu Ye has ever seen such a big number of damage. It was lucky but who cares! The history was written by the winners!
"Yes!"
Liu Ye squeezed his fist in a victory stance as euphoria rushed to his brain but he quickly calmed himself down. Even if they killed the King Scorpion, the quest wasn't over yet.
Argh!
Just as he thought about it and looked at Zac, he heard his scream filled with pain. The venom was slowly unfreezing itself and began to eat away on his arm. By the time he reached him, he was down on the ground with his arm all black.
"Hold on!" Liu Ye slapped Zac across the face as he froze his arm again. The man was already half-conscious and his forehead full of sweat.
"Zac! Don't die on us! We already got revenge for you!" the Sand Worries cried out as they approached and looked at Liu Ye in worry. "Can you save him?"
"I will do my best," Liu Ye replied positively despite having a bad premonition. He thought he had more time to come back for another treatment but the venom reacted much faster this time.
"What plans do you have with that King Scorpion?" Liu Ye questioned after noticing they kept glancing back.
"We planned to cut it to parts and later sell it as Potion Crafting ingredients," Sand Warriors spilled the truth, causing Liu Ye's eyes to light up.
"Alright, I need two of you to come with me while the rest can handle the King Scorpion," Liu Ye commanded. "One will carry him while the other will feed him Health Potions to keep him alive."
"Yes, Sir!" the Sand Warriors nodded eagerly and acted immediately.
Zac was already unconscious but his HP was still stable. If he was in critical danger, his HP would slowly fall down in the same fashion as drowning.
"Let's hope he can survive the way back home…"
———
"Alright, let's have a moment of break. You are doing amazing but I don't think this type of training can help you grow more."
Watching Zhenzhen reach stagnation while training on the testing dummies, Katherine finally stopped it.
"I think it would be better if I could try to heal other players," Zhenzhen suggested. "How about I meet up with my brother and try on him?"
Katherine paused as she hesitated. She wanted to stall their meeting until Avi could meet with them but it seemed like it was impossible.
"Okay, let me check what he is doing," Katherine muttered as she opened her console. When she finally found Liu Ye's profile though, her eyes shone with light.
"Let's go!"
