Chapter 18 Fallen Flowers

Luo Luo, holding her wine glass, walked over to Gu Fei and Huo Qiu's table.

"May I?" she asked, pointing to the empty seat at the table.

Huo Qiu was ecstatic. He and Gu Fei usually occupied a table for three or four, leaving one or two seats open, precisely waiting for this kind of opportunity.

Gu Fei was a bit surprised. He had thought the girl was just saying hello, not that she would actually sit down. Of course, Gu Fei wasn't one to turn people away, so he nodded and said, "Go ahead!"

"My name is Luo Hua Wu Qing," Luo Luo introduced herself as she sat down.

"A fine name," Gu Fei said.

"Is that all you say to compliment people?" Luo Luo smiled at Gu Fei.

Gu Fei looked awkward, remembering that he had said the same thing earlier and almost got punched into the wall by that volatile girl named Lie Lie.

"What's your name?" Luo Luo generously asked Huo Qiu.

Huo Qiu stammered for a long time before finally covering his face and weeping.

"What's wrong with him?" Luo Luo asked, puzzled.

Gu Fei struggled to suppress his laughter. "His name is…" He didn't say it, but instead dipped his finger in the wine and wrote it on the table.

"Oh, Huo Qiu," Luo Luo chuckled.

Huo Qiu tensed up habitually, but Luo Luo smiled again. "Don't worry, I'm not a mage."

Huo Qiu breathed a sigh of relief and immediately perked up, pouring out his grievances to Luo Luo, telling her how much trouble his name had caused him. In short, it was the kind of indelible shadow on his heart, and to smooth it over, a strong emotional impact was needed, such as going out with a girl.

It seemed Huo Qiu wasn't interested in discussing guild matters with him anymore. Gu Fei smiled, stood up, and said, "You guys chat, I'm going to head out."

"Go, go!" Huo Qiu thought Gu Fei was incredibly perceptive.

"Wait!" Luo Luo also stood up, sending Huo Qiu into an icy pit.

Gu Fei looked back at her.

"I have something to give you," Luo Luo said.

"What is it?"

Luo Luo took out a small badge from her pocket, a round, white one. The pattern on it was exactly the same as the one on the sign hanging outside door B17 on Charlotte Street, emitting the same faint purple light.

"This is?"

"A guild badge. Everyone in the guild has one," Luo Luo said.

"Ah? Zui Ge, you joined a guild? What guild? You never mentioned it!" Before Gu Fei could say anything, Huo Qiu was already burning with excitement.

"Ah! This… it's actually a misunderstanding. I won't be staying in this guild for long," Gu Fei said.

"That's not necessarily true," Luo Luo said with a smile. "Xiao Qi doesn't dislike you, maybe she'll try to convince the other girls to accept having a male player in the guild."

"Girls? Male player?" Huo Qiu murmured to himself, then suddenly said, "What kind of guild are you in?"

"The Rebirth Purple Crystal you were just talking about," Gu Fei confessed to Huo Qiu with immense sorrow.

Huo Qiu stood up abruptly, looked at Luo Luo and Gu Fei, and suddenly shouted, "Sister Luo, since you don't mind one, you probably won't mind two. I'm Zui Ge's sidekick, always by his side. Wherever he goes, I have to follow. No one can separate us brothers."

Gu Fei was embarrassed. He really wanted to make it clear that he didn't know this guy.

Luo Luo, however, remained calm, smiled, and said, "I don't mind one or two more."

Huo Qiu was overjoyed.

"But my word isn't final," Luo Luo added.

Huo Qiu burst into tears.

Gu Fei, on the other hand, looked at the badge Luo Luo had placed on the table and pushed towards him, paused, and said, "It's still okay. I'll just leave when you find a suitable twentieth person."

"Is that so? Then suit yourself," Luo Luo said, taking back the badge.

Huo Qiu looked at Gu Fei in astonishment, then suddenly said excitedly, "Zui Ge, you don't have to do this. Since you already have a chance, go for it! You don't have to consider my feelings at all."

"You guys chat, I'm leaving," Gu Fei said, ignoring Huo Qiu and turning to leave.

Huo Qiu continued to shout, "Zui Ge, I understand your intentions. From this moment on, I've completely decided that you! Are my brother, my brother forever."

Faced with the onlookers' idiot-stares, Gu Fei finally couldn't bear it anymore, suddenly turned around, raised a finger on his right hand, and shouted, "Shut up! Chain Fireball! Release!"

"Ah!" A scream echoed through the bar.

Chain Fireball! A mage skill at level 30.

Although the official experience adjustment had reduced the experience required to reach level 30, there weren't many players who had actually reached level 30 yet, especially in the mage class, which was more difficult to level up in the early stages.

Currently, there wasn't a single person in the bar who had seen a level 30 mage, let alone the mage's level 30 skill, Chain Fireball. Everyone's eyes widened. In this realistic game, having high attack speed or high defense couldn't compare to the coolness of a mage casting a spell after chanting. Most players only realized this after experiencing the game for themselves. And so, on countless nights, countless players wet their pillows with tears. "I should have been a mage…"

Gu Fei was probably the only person in the entire game who regretted becoming a mage.

The frustrated mage Gu Fei, with a frustrated mood, aimed at Huo Qiu and released his first spell. Gu Fei was also one of a kind for a mage who had reached level 30 without ever using a spell.

Under the expectant gazes of the crowd and the panicked eyes of Huo Qiu, the Chain Fireball was slow to release.

"What's going on?" Gu Fei shook his finger in confusion. Spells could obviously be cast empty-handed! Staffs only increased the damage of the spell. Incantation? He hadn't said anything wrong!

"Tch…" The attentive crowd all scoffed. They all thought that this guy hadn't even reached level 30 and was just shouting to scare people.

Just when everyone had lowered their guard, a fiery dragon suddenly erupted from between Gu Fei's fingers. Even Gu Fei himself was taken aback.

"Damn, that's a long casting time!" Some quick-witted players had already figured out what was going on.

Then, the fiery dragon swirled around and instantly turned into a string of fireballs, all heading straight for Huo Qiu's head.

"Ah!" Amidst the crowd's screams, Huo Qiu was enveloped in a blaze of fire.

The bar was silent. After a long while, a violent coughing broke the silence.

"That hurt!" Huo Qiu rubbed his face and yelled, his face covered in charred marks.

"Huh?" Everyone was surprised. "What garbage damage! This person is actually fine." Although mages were weak, their spells' damage was astonishing. Receiving a level 30 skill, Chain Fireball, head-on, unless they had added constitution to increase their health or had high magic defense equipment, it would normally be enough to kill them instantly.

Huo Qiu was undoubtedly a mage. He didn't wear misleading attire like Gu Fei. So it was impossible for him to be healthy.

"Does this idiot have high magic defense equipment?" Someone wondered.

But soon, an appraisal expert answered, "No, just a bunch of trash."

So the focus of the crowd fell on Gu Fei.

Currently, the conclusion of research was that mages should focus on intelligence and spirit. These two stats affected the mage's spell damage, casting time, and mana. Intelligence had a greater impact on damage and mana, while spirit focused on affecting casting time. Recently, there was also a saying that if spirit reached a certain value, it could even shorten the skill's cooldown time.

And Gu Fei had an extremely long spell casting time and extremely low spell damage.

Everyone felt bewildered: how had this mage survived? And reached level 30?

"They're friends, so it's impossible for him to kill him," a player analyzed in a low voice.

"That's right, look at him, he didn't even use a staff."

"But how did he manage such a long casting time?"

"Uh, did you guys notice, he didn't just shout the spell, there were a few words before it."

"Yeah, I remember it was something like 'Shut up!'"

"Could this be a hidden incantation to extend the spell casting time?" Someone exclaimed excitedly.

"Hurry, go try it…" Several mages had already left the bar, and the faint sound of "Shut up! xxxx" could be heard outside, gradually fading away.

Gu Fei also realized that he had been a little impulsive just now.

"Are you okay? Huo… uh, that guy," Gu Fei said.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Huo Qiu said loudly. "Zui Ge, you don't have to worry about it. We're brothers! I won't be angry no matter what you do."

"Good! Then I'll leave first!" Gu Fei really couldn't take it anymore.

"Can you still leave?" A voice came from behind Gu Fei.

Gu Fei quickly turned around and saw a heavily armored warrior, and a sense of heaviness instantly washed over him.

"It's you!" Gu Fei smiled. It was the female warrior who had helped him carry the sack.

The female warrior's eyes flashed with cold light, and her right hand suddenly swung. Gu Fei had already anticipated what was coming and dodged in a flash.

"Don't run!" The female warrior chased out of the bar, wielding her giant axe. The entire bar stood up and followed.

Gu Fei didn't run, but stood quietly outside the bar, also holding his weapon. But everyone's eyes widened in disbelief. This mage who had just demonstrated a level 30 skill was holding a knife in his hand.

"Miss, what's wrong? Let's talk it over!" Gu Fei said, but he wasn't letting his guard down. From their brief exchange earlier, it wasn't hard to see that this girl was careless, straightforward, and persistent.

Just like before, she had to carry the sack for him.

Now, she wanted to chop him with her axe, and she would definitely do it. Talk? That would have to wait until after she was done chopping.

Sure enough, the girl completely ignored what Gu Fei said and chopped down on Gu Fei with her giant axe.

Gu Fei dodged and swung his knife back, slashing at her arm.

With a "clang," Gu Fei's heart sank.

From the feeling of that strike, he clearly understood one thing: his knife hadn't done any damage at all.

Gu Fei himself didn't have much attack power. The damage came entirely from the weapon in his hand. Now, with the "Eddie Emblem", the increased strength had added a few points to his attack, but the mage's natural strength growth was low. Adding 6 points of strength to a mage was completely different from adding it to a warrior.

Currently, the attack from 6 points of strength, plus the weapon's maximum damage, was still below this female warrior's defense.

This heavily armored warrior was immune to his attacks.