Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 282 Bounty (Part 1) 

 

The World Channel was in turmoil. Messages were flooding the channel at an unprecedented speed. After applying some filters to the chat, Ye Ci could finally have a clear picture of what was going on. 

 

World: The Northern Continent guild Rain of Blood has placed a huge bounty on Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn. Any kills scored on either of the players would be rewarded with 20,000 gold coins or its equivalent in real world currency. Bounty duration: 3 months. 

 

World: The Northern Continent guild Heavenly Body has placed a huge bounty on Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn. Any kills scored on either of the players would be rewarded with 30,000 gold coins or its equivalent in real world currency. Bounty duration: 3 months. 

 

World: The Northern Continent guild Sangharama Shrine has placed a huge bounty on Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn. Any kills scored on either of the players would be rewarded with 40,000 gold coins or its equivalent in real world currency. Bounty duration: 3 months. 

 

And she received three system notifications at the same time. 

 

“A bounty has been placed on you by the Northern Continent guild, Rain of Blood. Duration: 3 months. Please do your best to keep yourself safe.” 

 

“A bounty has been placed on you by the Northern Continent guild, Heavenly Body. Duration: 3 months. Please do your best to keep yourself safe.” 

 

“A bounty has been placed on you by the Northern Continent guild, Sangharama Shrine. Duration: 3 months. Please do your best to keep yourself safe.” 

 

Players and guilds in Fate were allowed to place a bounty on a player after paying a specific amount of fees. The bounty would then be added into a game as a quest. Players who accepted the bounty could then hunt down the target of their bounty even if it was an allying player without committing a crime. The longest possible duration for a bounty placed by an individual was at a month, while a guild could place out a bounty for three months. 

 

It was very obvious that Ye Ci’s involvement in the avalanche had incurred the wrath of the three major Northern Continent guilds. The bounty was placed on them right after the leaders of the three guild returned to the capital of their continent. 

 

Of course, bounties were a common sight in Fate, as the cost of placing bounties on a person was relatively cheap. But the bounties placed out on this day had caused a turmoil in the entire game. It was placed out by the three major guilds of the Northern Continent, and these guilds with their millions of players made up at least half the continent’s population. It was simply unbelievable that guilds at such a scale would place out bounties against individual players. 

 

And the subject of the bounties were equally mind blowing to the masses, as they were none Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn. 

 

Who is Gongzi You? 

 

And who is Spotless Autumn? 

 

These were names not known to only players who were new to the game. They were the top players of their respective continent, and the former was the role model for all Hunters, while the latter a benchmark of how a Sorcerer should be. These mechanically skillful players were like living legends in the game. It was simply unbelievable that the two would have a bounty placed upon them by the three major guilds of the Northern Continent. 

 

Why is there a bounty out for them? Did they run into each other by coincidence? But how could two players cause such a large inconvenience to three powerful guilds to the point where bounties were placed on them? 

 

It was simply unimaginable. 

 

Rumors were beginning to surface regarding the incident that happened between the duo and the three major guilds. The silence from both sides involved left a lot of room for imagination. 

 

The World Channel was full of gossip and nothing else. 

 

Ye Ci once again muted her World Channel, and sent a message to Spotless Autumn, “How are things on your end?” 

 

“I’m in hot soup right now. Take care of yourself.” came the short reply. 

 

Ye Ci could already imagine the situation that Spotless Autumn had found himself in. He might be able to handle any player that came his way, but even he would eventually tire out under the unending numbers of players that were after his bounty. 

 

She would soon be forced into the same situation. 

 

Ye Ci could not help the sigh that escaped her mouth. She was not one to be afraid of trouble, and since trouble was already at her doorsteps, the only thing she could do was to be careful. 

 

Despite the turmoil in the World Channel, Ye Ci was not peppered by the members of her guild the moment she arrived in the headquarters. She had thought that her guild members were not into gossipping, but it was revealed that Bai Mo and Timely Rain had managed to suppress their curiosity. But this incident was still brought onto the table by Ye Ci herself in a meeting between officers.

 

The officers who finally learned of the truth let out a collective sigh of release, “Even if that’s the case, don’t you think they’re just being mean?” said Let Go Of That Girl, “You should be careful with this bounty on your head. Why don’t you head into the dungeon with us? If you’re with us, it’ll be harder for anyone who has accepted their bounties to go after you.” 

 

Players from the opposing continents would be the least of their worries, but it would not be as simple to deal with players from the same continent as only players who had accepted the bounties and the target of the bounties could fight without committing a crime. The bounties’s target could not expect help from even his or her own party members. 

 

This was why many of the officers agreed with Let Go Of That Girl. 

 

Timely Rain could tell what was in Ye Ci’s mind when she remained silent. He knew that she would not agree to such an idea. “What do you think? Do you want to follow us into the dungeons? You’ll have safety in numbers.” asked Bai Mo. 

 

Ye Ci shook her head and smiled, “It’s nothing, you don’t have to be worried about me. I’ll be fine as long as I’m careful. The dungeon clearing roster is full anyways. I don’t want a member to lose their spot just because of me. I’ll be careful.” 

 

With Ye Ci’s mind already made, the issue was immediately cast aside. After all, it was a waste of resources and time to focus solely on the same issue, and they knew for a fact that Ye Ci was not one to hold back if she needed the help. 

 

Bai Mo chuckled as he left the conference room with Ye Ci after the meeting, “I’ve never thought that you’ll raise so much trouble in the Northern Continent. I bet they hate you to death now.” 

 

“It’s none of my concern, really. It’s all a matter of coincidence that Spotless Autumn and I were involved in that incident. They were the ones who brought it upon themselves, while we simply did not want to miss out on a chance to earn so many Honor Points. They won’t dare to pull anything big especially when Golden Era is coming.” Ye Ci sighed, “I’m more worried about the arrival of Golden Era itself.” 

 

Bai Mo shook his head at Ye Ci, “This is not something that you should worry about. Just do what you’ve always been doing. I’m here. I’ll take care of it.” 

 

Ye Ci could feel warmth washing away the worries in her heart as she stared at Bai Mo. She let out a sigh when she heard his words. It’s good to have someone to rely on. 

 

“So how did your quest go?” 

 

“I’ve completed three of my more important quests. But there was still a courier quest that I did not manage to complete because of the avalanche. There’s also the Northern Continent’s Mithril ore vein. I was planning to kill the NPC involved in the quest if I could not figure out which guild was the one who activated the quest, but there was nothing I could do after the avalanche. You can say that my trip to the Northern Continent did not go as well as planned.” 

 

“Having the control of two Mithril ore veins is already enough. Blossom and your two servants still need time to grow. I don’t know what will happen in the game until then, but not everything will go according to plan. You must learn to let go. We can barely defend the ore vein that we have, so there’s nothing we can do with two of them. I know that you’re not satisfied with how things ended, but letting go is not a bad thing.” Bai Mo, who could sense Ye Ci’s worries, patted her on the shoulder. 

 

“O.” came the reply. She knew that she had to let go, but she was still not satisfied with the results. 

 

“Don’t you still have quests to complete?” Bai Mo chuckled, “Why don’t you focus on that instead of things that you can’t control?” 

 

Ye Ci took in a deep breath and nodded. Alright then, what is done is done. With the guild’s focus placed on its Life Players, it was only natural for its growth to be affected. She stared once again at Bai Mo. With him around, there’s really nothing that I have to worry about. 

A smile appeared on her face, “Alright, I’ll be on my way then.” 

 

“Go. I’ll be the first one there if you need help.” Bai Mo patted Ye Ci on her head. His smile was as warm as a spring breeze under the shining sun. 

 

Ye Ci pursed her lips, and continued walking. She turned around and waved her hand at Bai Mo. 

 

And she ran into Tan Polang who was sitting by the guild headquarter’s teleportation NPC and fiddling with his daggers. The faint glow of the daggers was a sign that they were rare equipment. “Heh, long time no see.” he raised his head when he noticed Ye Ci’s presence. 

 

“That’s because you’re always at school.” 

 

“Yup, you’re right.” Tan Polang nodded, “The school had instructed us to fill in our university of choice. I’ve of course listed down your school as my first choice.” 

 

“Are you confident that you can make it?” Ye Ci sat down beside the boy. Tan Polang had spent lesser and lesser time on the game due to his studies. He was lvl50 when he first joined the guild, and due to his many exams, he was not even lvl60 yet. 

 

“I’m sure that I can get a recommendation from my school. This will give me more time to spend on the game. It’ll be very tiring if I can’t catch up with the rest of the members.” 

 

“Are you doing well enough to get a recommendation?” 

 

“I’m just a few marks away from getting one in my last test. If I can score well in this test and the one at the end of the year, I will be able to get one.” Tan Polang smiled at Ye Ci. The gray jacket that he wore was also a high-tiered item. 

 

Ye Ci patted the boy and the head and offered him a smile, “You can do it! I’m sure of it.” 

 

“I heard from mom that you still have problems with your leg.” Tan Polang was worried, “And what about your finals? Will you be failing your subjects?” 

 

“It’s a fractured bone. Do you think it’ll heal that fast?” Ye Ci paid little heed to the question, “And well.. With Bai Mo around, I think I’ll be able to pass my exams. He’s always good at predicting the questions.” 

 

Tan Polang stared at Ye Ci and bit his lips. 

 

Will I die if I mention it to her? 

 

“Is there something that you want to say to me?” asked Ye Ci when she noticed Tan Polang’s expression. 

 

“No, it’s nothing.” he shook his head, “I’m just worrying about the bounty placed on you by the three major guilds of the Northern Continent.” 

 

“Oh, that. There’s nothing to worry about. I won’t die that easily.” 

 

Ye Ci offered him a smile. 

 

“But what if Fleeting Time had accepted the bounty as well?” Tan Polang spoke up after a long silence. 

 

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