10 Fishmen

Xavier had just entered the game for less than a day. He still needed to gradually accumulate his wealth bit by bit.

Immediately, he turned and ran towards the lakeside.

As he looked ahead of him, he saw the clear waters merging with the reflection of the azure sky. The lake gleamed and sparkled as the sun's rays illuminated the top of the crystalline clear waters.

Idea's players had mobilized intensely and were surveying the area. There were many areas in the vicinity where one could discover the movements of Idea guild's people. They did not come with few numbers. It appeared that they were preparing to begin their operation on the Fishmen village.

The Fishmen village wasn't an instance, but rather a spawning ground for monsters to congregate. These types of places would also frequently drop decent items.

Xavier passed through a small grove of trees, arriving at about two hundred meters away from the lakeside.

Without taking a single step further and entering an open space. He instantly activated his B-level talent stealth.

Quiet

The sound of the wind brushing against the leaves, insects buzzing and birds chirping away making the forest lively.

Xavier's line of sight shifted past the grove of trees. His eyes fell upon the body of an Elementalist wearing a red robe. The opposing player was a Level 3 Elementalist from Ideas guild!

Mages were divided into three types of classes: Elementalists, Arcane Mages, and Holy Mages. Elementalists had the ability to control ice, fire, and lightning—their power was the elements. Arcane Mages were able to control arcane might and finally, there were the Holy Mages. They were the least selected class. Their skills were the most difficult to train in, but their power was definitely the strongest. They could cast and unleash the power of divine spells.

The killing power of fire spells was the highest among the spells at an Elementalist's disposal.

It took a few more minutes of the Elementalist's player patrolling the area, then leaving.

When coming across a Mage, you either run up to them and engage them in close quarters combat or hastily run away.

A Mage's strategy was to maintain as great of a distance from the enemy as possible and bombard them with magic spells.

After confirming there were no other players from Idea guild nearby, Xavier dashed towards the lake.

Out of nowhere, hidden in grove of trees, a Beserker and Fighter happened to see Xavier running.

"Everyone! Gather up and bar his way forward!"

Both the Fighter and Berserker accelerated their pace.

As he drew increasingly closer to the lake's surface—at about five or six meters away—Xavier fished out the Basic Underwater Breathing Pill he had bought prior and popped it into his mouth.

"He wants to dive into the lake to escape!"

"Don't let him get to the water!"

In a moment of mutual understanding, both the Berserker and Fighter simultaneously leapt forward. The Fighter and Berserker were both professions of the Warrior class. Their attacks after borrowing the momentum of their leaps were much more fierce and quick compared to other melee professions.

"Sudden Assault!"

"Flame Slash!"

The Fighter brandished his sword and charged forward, quickly advancing towards Xavier.

As the Berserker cleaved downwards, his sword ignited and became enveloped in raging flames.

Xavier and the two were still a bit of a distance apart. As he turned his head to look back at them, he immediately felt his face assaulted by the flames of the sword stroke. Suddenly, from the corners of his mouth, he revealed a strange smile and then leapt backwards… His back entered the waters first, as he plunged deeply into Lake Rando.

Right after, concentric ripples began slowly dispersing through the surface of the tranquil lake waters.

The Fighter and Berserker rushed over, finally stopping at the lakeside. The Berserker prepared to jump into the lake waters, but the Fighter pulled him back and stopped him. "Forget it… there's no need to chase after a cornered enemy. Besides, none of us have any Underwater Breathing Pills." The Fighter thought back to the strange smile Xavier had shown just moment prior. This was the root cause of his unwillingness to enter the lake's waters—for fear that Xavier could possibly have some sort of malicious plan for them in the waters below. Ultimately, he was fearful that it would cause them to be left buried under the lakebed.

"Forget it… just like that?" the Berserker replied in an extremely depressed tone.

"Just consider it Joseph's bad luck. Who let him think he was so invincible that he could just separate himself from the team like that? Anyway, we'll let this be a lesson for him—there are still many experts besides him."

Several players from Idea guild ran up to them breathlessly, most of whom were Mages, Priests, and so on. Their movement speeds weren't as quick compared to the Warriors. Hence, they were left far behind.

"How'd it go? Where'd that guy run off to?" one of the Mages asked.

The Fighter shook his head and replied, "We didn't catch him. He ended up diving into the lake."

That Mage had an astonished expression as he gazed at the Fighter and Berserker. These two, Jack (Violet Cliff) and Chris (Violet Underworld), could be considered the top two Warriors within the guild. He managed to escape even after being chased by Jack and Chris … Where the hell did that Thief come from?

"I wonder… what was that Thief's name?" The Mage spoke in a curious tone.

"No attack landed on him, so we don't know" The berserk said in frustration.

In a concerned tone, the Mage commanded, "From now on, have the people under you stay cautious. If they encounter any thief with same style as this, have them report back immediately." When the several of them came across Xavier, they were unable to even touch his clothe. As for the outcome, if ordinary members of the guild were to encounter him, one could well imagine the consequences.

After Xavier dived into the lake, he began swimming about. The waters of Lake Rando were extraordinarily clear. The sun's rays penetrated through the water. As the light refracted through the water's surface, it formed brightly coloured pillars. The lake's vegetation drifted about gently—slowly dancing with the waves. It formed an exceptionally beautiful and mesmerizing piece of scenery.

As Xavier was submerged near the lake floor, shuttling himself between the lake's vegetation.

It should be near this area. That chest should contain the skill book of a supportive skill called Gatherer. Even though Gatherer is not some kind of rare skill book, it's still scarce, considering the average level of the current player base. After a player learned the Gatherer skill, they could increase their income by quite a bit. Every team required at least one member to have this skill, and every solo player required the Gatherer skill as well. The market demand for the skill book was huge, however, the supply was few. This caused the relationship between supply and demand to become unbalanced. In turn, it caused the price of the Gatherer skill book to soar to great heights.

"If I'm able to find the treasure chest, it would be very good. One of the characteristics of Thieves is that they're able to reach many locations that other professions would be incapable of reaching. By acquiring the Gatherer skill I can make it display even more of its usefulness. Basic Underwater Breathing Pills can only last for fifteen minutes. If I had known earlier that the Idea guild will be camping in Fishmen Village, I would've bought a few more. " Xavier said with annoyance.

In the far distance, a figure slowly submerged itself into the water and began swimming over. After being illuminated by the sun's rays. Xavier could, at last, see the figure distinctly. It was indeed a Level 3 Fishman. It had the body of a fish, its four limbs continuously moving to and fro. The speed of its movement underwater was unusually quick. In addition, it held a trident which was grasped firmly in its hand.

Xavier hurriedly concealed himself within the thickets of the underwater vegetation.

If it were one versus one, Xavier could effortlessly kill this Fishman. However, Fishmen very much loathed fighting one on one. In a situation where they were attacked, they would produce a howl so intense that it draws all the Fishmen within the immediate vicinity over to its location.

For staying safe, Xavier did not provoke these troublesome fellows.

The Fishman was in an area not far from Xavier and was swimming over. Pushing apart the underwater vegetation, it made its way through.

While the Fishman was brushing past the underwater plants, Xavier's eyes peered through the thickets of vegetation, discovering an object faintly concealed within.

Glancing at the Fishman who had swum a far distance away, Xavier carefully swam past. This was an area heavily surrounded by Fishmen activity. If he were discovered, it would become dangerous very quickly.

Xavier brushed past the vegetation. After searching for a while, he finally found a small wooden crate within the vegetation. It was the lowest level of treasure chests—White grade. He was sure it was another item he was looking for.

After opening the wooden crate, Xavier went about digging through it. Unsurprisingly, the sensation he felt in his hands when he touched the object in the chest wasn't that of a skill book, but rather that of a smooth pearl.

Xavier examined this object's properties.

Murloc Water Aversion Pearl: Special Item

Additional effect: Allows the user to breathe underwater. Once activated, allows the user to breathe underwater for thirty minutes.

Cooldown: Twelve Hours.

It was the most basic of special items. Although the item wasn't anything particularly great, it would allow Xavier to save on a few Basic Underwater Breathing pills. So, he would still be able to use them in the future.

It seems this place doesn't contain only a single chest. After thinking about it, it should be right. Within such a large lake, the developers wouldn't place only a single treasure chest. Xavier continued his search through the thick plant growth, traveling back and forth. After finding the Water Aversion Pearl, he spent quite an ample amount of time searching for treasure chests underwater.

There were some movements in one of the thickets not far from him, causing Xavier's heart to jump with fright. Hurriedly, he ducked into the undergrowth next to him and concealed himself.

A single Fishman appeared swimming through the vegetation, not far from Xavier. It leisurely swam past the gaps between the aquatic plant life.

In the next moment, another Fishman came swimming towards Xavier's location.

Then another Fishman appeared and another one…

The Fishmen were appearing with increasing frequency.

"Dammit, did I end up stumbling upon a Fishmen lair…? Or maybe it's just my luck that I ended up coming across a school of Fishmen swimming by." Xavier joked to himself.

One of the Fishmen neared him; the distance between them became increasingly shorter.

The number of Fishmen within the vicinity were simply too many. If all of them came over, the only path Xavier would have left to take was death.

"Keep calm, it should be almost there" Xavier tried to keep himself calm and wait.

One of the Fishmen arrived in the area about three meters away from him. It seemed to have noticed something. Halting in place, it raised up the trident in its hand.

[Kieeh! Croak!]

The Fishmen opened its mouth and produced a bizarre call.

Xavier gazed at his surroundings. At least ten or so Fishmen emerged, surrounding the area he had hidden himself in. The Trident, which was as bright as snow, had already completely sealed off his escape route.

There was no way he could beat these Fishmen. The speed at which they moved underwater was unusually quick. Furthermore, once their sharp teeth bit into their target, they wouldn't release their jaws until they tore their target to shreds.

Escaping is impossible. It's also impossible to win, even if I try forcefully facing off against them.

Just at that moment, the intense sound of a horn rang out from the distant direction of the lakeside. The quick tempo was filled with urgency, as the loud and clear sound continuously resonated into the far distance.

This was the warning signal. The Fishmen tribe was being attacked!

The ten or so surrounding Fishmen near Xavier all stopped their movements at the same time.

[Gurgle, Croak!]

Shifting their heads to listen carefully, they opened their mouths and spoke in a strange language. Right after, they all simultaneously swam towards the direction of the lakeside at a great speed.

These ten Fishmen swam away, becoming increasingly distant. Over a hundred Fishmen rushed over from all directions, converging together towards a single point as if they were a shoal of fish.

The Fishmen gradually disappeared from Xavier's view.

Xavier still felt apprehension in his heart, the outcome of those subsequent events was surprising. However, they were still within his plan ever since Idea guild appeared.