Starting from Zero

Book 3, Chapter 35

Escape

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I hurriedly went back into the game. Rose said I could take it slow but that doesn't mean I should slack off.

First I should go finish my job quest. I think the old timer back at the trading center also gave me a companion quest to that garden. Well this would save me a lot of effort.

I began my escape plan according to Wayne's suggestions. I moved out in the very early morning to make sure there won't be many players around.

I walked towards the city gate with my cloak's invisibility skill on. Each time I passed near the patrolling guards I would need to hold my breath carefully.

Almost there. There are many NPC guards all over the place but luckily, none spotted me. Some players have already noticed why a name is floating in the air. One who looks like a warrior, finally decided to check it out.

He approached my position and drew his sword, poking it at me to see if anything is under that name.

Nope, can't hide it any longer. I looked at the distance. Should be able to run for it.

"Night Shade!"

I summoned him in a flash and jumped up. Then I canceled my invisibility and summoned the Phantom Knights. Here goes nothing!

That warrior poking at me is kicked away to somewhere by Night Shade. NPC guards quickly gathered. We can't use our charge skills since we don't have enough space. And there will only be more enemies if I stay longer. Time is critical.

I summoned Phiona and Lucky as well. The ten knights stayed in front to clear the path. We're dealing with level 800 guards now. Their leaders haven't arrived yet.

Lucky roared and charged into the crowd. With those claws and spikes, he's like a battle tank wrecking havoc in a chicken coop. He can't really do any serious damage to those guards, but each time he swipes his tail around he would knock some people flying. That is enough.

A lot of players appeared around the scene as well. Everyone is wondering what kind of people attracted so many guards.

The fight may look awesome on the outside, but I'm having some real trouble here. The gate is just ahead but we can't advance an inch!

The worst part is, several guards closed it up! Hey that's unfair. I thought they don't shut the gates just for one player!

We still managed to get to the gate. Now I'm having a headache on how to get it open. The gate of Dragon State is one of those vertical sliding shutters shaped like a floodgate. Once it's down it will not be easy to raise it again.

I ordered the Phantom Knights to stay behind and keep enemies away.

"Lucky! Smash the door!"

He quickly disengaged himself from the crowd, jumped to the gate and gave it a tail swipe. Bam! The gate didn't move, but I can see several small cracks on it.

"Again!"

Lucky roared and gave it another shot with all his strength, which caused the entire part of the city wall to shake a little. The city guards behind us is pushing through really fast, and it seems Lucky's not going to break it fast enough.

Loong'er spoke to me: "I'll try it!"

"You sure?"

I don't think I've ever saw Loong'er using physical attacks before. As far as I can see, rough works like breaking walls or digging rocks are more of Lucky's cup of tea.

"I got this! Lucky, step aside!"

Lucky moved to one side of the wall, before Loong'er rushed towards the gate. More shaking and a louder booming noise this time. The gate fell into shreds. With her long body, Loong'er pierced through the gate archway like a running train while knocking several figures outside the gate flying towards the fairyland. No idea if those are players or guards.

"Go!"

Now there's nothing to stop us!

However, more guard swarms rushed out of the gate just behind us.

"Lucky! Destroy the bridge!"

He finished that order before I can turn around and look at it. I just heard a snap, then the sounds of bodies falling into water.

"Ha! Try to catch me now!" I looked back at the guards on the other side of the moat and those struggling in the water. A middle-finger feels so nice in such a moment.

I was planning to slow down and taunt them more before I noticed they quickly let out a path towards the gate. A team of cavalries charged and jumped over the city moat with ease!

Run damn it!

We fled awkwardly until the pursuers stopped at the border of Dragon State's territory. Man that was not easy, any more mistakes and I'll have to spend the rest of my life in prison!

But that's nothing I should be worrying about now. I opened my quest window to check where the Garden of Life is.

I read through the texts for five minutes before I finally gave up. There's not a single word mentioning the whereabouts of the garden. The only thing I learned is that the place is full of good companions.

That's both good and bad news. Good companions means they're terribly deadly monsters before I can capture them. And there are a lot of them too.

I contacted Wayne. "Hey Wayne, ask around the city and see if anyone knows where the Garden of Life is."

"Garden of Life? You mean the place good for farming companions?"

"Wait, you've been there before? Tell me where it is."

"I never went there but I saw a thread on the forum talking about it. Check it out yourself, I'm busy."

"Ok thanks!"

I ordered the knights and Lucky to keep the area safe, then I opened the forum while sitting on Night Shade. I soon found that thread. It's highlighted in red too.

Umm. Looks like I should learn to check the forum often.

The thread is written by a player who went into the garden by accident. He claims that the garden is located to the north of the Celestial City, which sits right at the center of the entire continent. It's a two-hour walk from the city to the garden. There is a dense forest around the place, and a certain valuable material fruit grows in that forest. Many players would go pick the fruits and sell them for money. They mostly grow in the outer area so few people would wander into the depth of the place.

You reach the entrance of the garden if you get through the forest. There is a Maze of Life, players will need to clear this maze as well to finally get into the garden. There will be a minotaur monster at each corner of the maze. They will ask players questions instead of attacking them. Anyone giving the wrong answer or fails to give any answer in three minutes will be teleported back to the entrance.

The author of the post said he cleared the maze after somewhere like 30 questions, but was killed instantly as he stepped into the garden. He never knew what killed him. Unlike player kill, there is no record showing your opponent's name when killed by monsters. He did say that he saw the garden to be extremely beautiful, like a paradise in childhood stories. He also heard a dreamy music somewhere.

Well, the location is all I need.

I teleported outside the Celestial City and walked north as instructed in the post. I soon reached the fruit forest. As described, there sure are lot of farmers here.

"Hey you! Stop!" Someone shouted behind me.

I turned around impatiently. Two players. The one to the left is wearing poorly maintained wizard robe, with a...mop stick in his hand. I guess that's a magic rod. The other one is wearing pretty impressive iron armor. But the rusts all over it kinda ruined his overall image.

"What's the matter?" They don't look like the friendly type but I still tried to be polite.

The pair checked over my showy armor and the flowing cape behind my back, then gulped. The wizard whispered something to the warrior.

I can still hear it though. "He looks strong. Tell the boss to bring some helpers."

"Which guild are you from?" The wizard asked me.

"Why do you care?" That's not really a secret, but I don't feel like answering him.

"Doesn't matter. I saw the icon on your shoulder. Just need to go ask the authorities for it."

"So what do you need? I'm in a hurry. I'll leave now if you got no business."

"You are going into the forest right?"

"So what?" I'm getting annoyed.

"We run this place. Pay an entrance fee if you want to go pick fruits."

So that's what's this all about.

I stared at the two guys for a moment, then turned and walked towards the woods without saying anything else.

They quickly moved to block me. "Are you deaf? Pay up."

"I'm not here for the fruits."

"How do we know that?"

"I don't care. I give you five seconds to get out of my way, or I'll give you a free ticket back to the city instead."

Reasoning with these scums is wasting my time.

"Don't get cocky you hear? Maybe you got some nice-looking gear but our guild will be here soon. Don't be stupid."

The warrior finished his call and spoke as well: "Yo, a red name! How 'bout dropping those equipment to us?"

He ran to me and drew his sword before I can respond.

I shifted a bit to the left, dodging his attack, then stretched my claw blade. Puff. The blade easily pierced his body.

"How about using your brain before attacking people?"

I pushed his corpse down to the ground. He's already gone back waiting to be revived.

Then I walked towards the remaining wizard, with blood still dripping down from my claw. He froze like stone.

I lifted his robe, wiped my claw clean with it, and strolled into the forest, leaving the poor wizard behind whose teeth are chattering as if he's standing in arctic area, naked.