Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 286 It Sure Is Lively (Part 1) 

 

Rogues are the fastest characters in Fate, followed closely by Hunters. 

 

But was there really any Rogues faster than a Hunter like Fleeting Time? Fleeting Time’s response speed was fast, and his arrow was even faster. 

 

The only thing Ye Ci could when she finally reacted was his back as he charged at Spotless Autumn. 

 

Of course, Spotless Autumn was no pushover. He was still unaware of the identity of his assailant, but he knew that he had to act quick. 

 

He immediately cast Magical Barrier on himself the moment Fleeting Time launched his attack. The barrier, at level 3, could absorb 30,000 damage points in a duration of 10 minutes, with the cooldown of 1 minute. The barrier would break when it received more than 30,000 damage points. 

 

This meant that as long as Spotless Autumn could avoid suffering from 30,000 damage within a minute, he would be able to ensure his survival. Of course, it might be something easy to pull off against a normal player. But against a Fleeting Time who had was currently seething with rage.. 

 

Spotless Autumn attempted to slow Fleeting Time down with his ice spells and had to constantly reposition himself, but he was simply much slower than a Hunter. He gulped down a bottle of Haste Potion, increasing his speed, and making his fight against Fleeting Time just slightly easier. 

 

But most of his spells were evaded by Fleeting Time, and the few that managed to land were barely dealing any damage to the Hunter, and the debuff that he was hoping to afflict on Fleeting Time did not occur. Crap! His level cap has increased! I do not have the high ground in this fight. 

Despite that, Spotless Autumn had no intention of giving up. He continued running in a zigzag pattern, dodging behind trees, NPCs, and players alike. I can’t be as fast as him, so I’ll use the terrain against him.

 

This guy is good. Who is he? 

 

Spotless Autumn had the habit of muting his system messages, which was why he was unaware of the identity of his assailant. He finally had the chance to tap open the channel as he darted between NPCs and players alike. 

 

He received the shock of his life when the channel was unmuted, “You’ve been attacked by the Western Continent player: Fleeting Time. You are allowed to defend yourself, or to remain silent.” 

 

A frown immediately appeared on Spotless Autumn’s face when he saw the name. F*ck me! It’s Fleeting Time! 

 

So that’s why this guy is so good! He would’ve broken my barrier if I did not hide in the crowd! Hell, I might even be dead! The Hunter class is really the bane of my existence! Damn my luck! 

 

Just then, another thought entered his mind, Wait a minute… So Fleeting Time the one whow as doing that with Gongzi You… 

 

What were they doing? Are they exploring the human anatomy? W-w-what have I done? 

 

Fleeting Time could only feel pain. 

 

It was a pain that made him grit his teeth. 

 

He had always thought of himself as someone who was calm. He had never been particularly interested in anything in his twenty-odd years of life. His personality might have affected his ability in making friends, but he was lucky to have friends who are as close to him as brothers. 

 

They have grown used to his personality, but he would still frequently find himself doing some self-reflection on how he would always treat things with indifference. Could this be some sort of abnormality with my personality? There were even times when he had the urge to talk to a psychiatrist. 

 

Gongzi You, however, was an exception. 

 

He was caught off guard by her sudden appearance, by how easily she broke into his life. She had torn a gaping hole in his monotonous life in the most elegant and fiercest way before swiftly disappearing. 

 

She once again appeared before him fiercer than ever when he had almost forgotten about her, enlarging the already gaping hole in his heart. And from that point onward, he could no longer forget about it. 

 

They barely had the chance to run into one another, and Fleeting Time was not a person with good memory, Despite that, each of their encounters would always leave its mark in his heart. At this point, he could no longer tell which was the first time she left her mark. 

 

But one thing was certain: He was interested in Gongzi You. 

 

It started off as an interest in a rival who was evenly matched with him, but he was slowly captured by her wild ambition, and her will to persevere. Gongzi You had never appealed to him as a member of the opposite sex. 

 

It was something that was rare. 

 

In his twenty-odd years of life, members of the opposite gender had caused him much trouble. His handsome face was a source of his trouble since he was young, and was also why he hated jobs that would require him to show his face in public. This was also why he had always made sure to hide his face whenever he took part in a tournament so that the audience would notice his strength and not his face. 

 

And when it came to his love life, his face had also caused him a lot of trouble, mostly in the form of White Fairytale. 

 

He had even regretted his decision to have a haircut and a shower on the day he met White Fairytale. Perhaps she wouldn’t be so obsessed about me. He had thought. Perhaps I’m doomed to the fate of forever looking sloppily.

 

His handsome face had even brought him trouble in the game. He truly regretted his decision to not adjust his appearance in his haste to experience the new game. The randomized features had come to haunt him as those who did not know him would always disregard his skills and focus on his face. 

 

Gongzi You was different. 

 

He could still remember their first encounter, “There are so many Hunters in Genesis, so why me?” he asked. He had looked down on her back then, but the answer he received from Gongzi You came as a shock, “Because they’re not Fleeting Time.” 

 

She was the first person to take note of him not because of his face. 

 

And this was why he accepted her challenge even when it was something that he had never done before. He wanted to see if the Huntress standing before him truly meant what she said. 

 

And he was satisfied by the results. Even though she was not still not as experienced back then, she had never presented herself as a helpless female. Her actions were swift and decisive, and she had managed to leave a lasting impression in his mind: She was a great Huntress. 

And this impression would only be reinforced after each of their encounters. She had never let him down. He had truly enjoyed his fights with her. 

 

But it was like a drug. And he found himself addicted to that drug. 

 

And before he could even realise it, Fleeting Time began to pay attention to every little news about Gongzi You. It started off as a mere desire to watch her growth, but it slowly became a desire to take part in her journey in Fate. He would tend to speak out of turn, and her reaction had never once failed to bring him joy. 

 

He did not know when he had fallen into this trap, but he found himself unable to stop himself from continuing this game of cat and mouse with her, no matter how lame it was. And to that, Absalom had only one word to say: Childish. 

 

Even Fleeting Time himself thought of himself the same way. 

 

So what? As long as I am happy, I don’t care if it’s childish. 

 

He had always felt that Gongzi You would never truly be disgusted by his childish behavior. To him, Gongzi You was simply reacting out of embarrassment. (Author’s note: Fleeting Time, you’re not only childish, but shameless as well!) 

 

And this little joy of him eventually grew into a stronger desire. 

 

Which went unnoticed by him. Until that very moment… 

 

He knew that what he did was not right, and he struggled to keep himself in check. But the power of his will was not as great as he thought. 

 

Even he himself did not know what would happen if he was not forced to stop by the system. 

 

Despite that, there was still a fire burning in his heart. It was a raging flame that he was unable to put out. He had never experienced something like this before. The only thing he could do was to remain silent, and try his best to suppress that feeling. 

 

But God had always been by his side. He found the perfect vent for his frustration in the form of a certain player. 

 

And at that moment, Fleeting Time exploded into action. His entire being was screaming for release, and the perfect target showed itself just at the right place and the right time. 

 

He was a Sorcerer. And a very competent one. 

 

Not many were deemed a competent sorcerer by Fleeting Time, and the player in front of him was one of them. 

 

Sorcerers were known to be slow, but that man did not allow it to drag him down. He attempted to restrict Fleeting Time’s movement with a multitude of crowd controlling spells, but it did not work due to level penalty. 

 

He did not give up despite his disadvantage. He dove into the crowd, and was successful in using the terrain against Fleeting Time. 

 

A smile appeared on Fleeting Time’s face. This will be fun. 

 

Oh, what’s his name again? 

 

Fleeting Time opened his system channel as he pursued the player. And his eyes narrowed when he saw his name. 

 

So this is Spotless Autumn. Very well, you’re dead! 

 

Spotless Autumn gulped down another bottle of Haste Potion. He was almost out of breath, “Hey, Gongzi You, it’s all my fault! I shouldn’t do something like this! Forgive me, please…” 

 

Ye Ci leaned against the wisteria tree. Fleeting Time had already left in his pursuit of Spotless Autumn. She let out a long sigh, stooped over, and rested her hands on her knees. She could feel the heat on her face, and her legs felt weak. 

 

Goddamn it! Am I that much of a failure?! 

 

Ye Ci cursed under her breath. It was just a kiss! Should I be acting like a typical female protagonist!? She gritted her teeth, and forced herself up after taking in a deep breath. She looked at the direction where Fleeting Time and Spotless Autumn had taken off, and headed into the opposite direction. 

 

She did not know why she did it, but there was only a single thought in her mind: I must get the hell out of here! 

 

“Hey, did you take screenshots of that?” a player popped his head out from behind a bush once Gongzi You had left her spot. 

 

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