Chapter 51: The Elite Team’s Secret

Though I truly disliked wielding feminine charm as a weapon, to discard the sharpest blade at hand and settle for less would be the mark of a fool.

In the past, during moments of life-or-death peril, I often found myself compelled to disguise as a woman.

After all, makeup artistry possessed such wondrous power; it could transform even the most unsightly features into something utterly adorable, and I, for my part, possessed a modest understanding of its craft.

However, today, no such disguise was necessary.

“Well, I haven’t officially joined the guild yet, and the person who brought me hasn’t added me to the party, so I’ve just been observing from the sidelines,” I began, covering my mouth with a light laugh.

“But I truly wish to contribute to our Sword Sweeping the World, not merely stand by and be dismissed as a pretty face!”

Simultaneously, with swift reflexes, I raised my priest’s staff high, unleashing a powerful healing spell that instantly restored the Main Tank’s health from a perilous sliver to full.

They harbored no suspicions regarding my identity, for all three entrances had been thoroughly sealed, a fact they were already well aware of.

Even if they died and resurrected, returning to the fight would be impossible, let alone for an outsider like me.

Furthermore, a lone little priest like myself was hardly capable of stirring up any trouble.

Nevertheless, the surrounding priests gawked at me in stunned amazement, startled by the sheer magnitude of my healing output.

“Sister, this is far more than ‘contributing a little effort’!” Faint Tobacco Scent sputtered, swallowing hard as he witnessed my healing numbers.

“Even the elite healers in our guild can’t match your output! Who would dare call you a pretty face?”

Excellent; this fledgling had just stepped squarely into the trap I had carefully laid with my words.

In my earlier statement, I had claimed to “contribute to *our* Sword Sweeping the World,” and his lack of refutation confirmed Su Yingning’s assessment: this guild was indeed her sworn enemy!

Given this revelation, there was no longer any need for me to hold back.

“Sister, how is your magic attack so incredibly high?” Faint Tobacco Scent inquired, his voice laced with disbelief.

“Even a full Intelligence build shouldn’t achieve this!”

Though I was merely level fourteen, my base attributes inherently surpassed those of ordinary players by one and a half times.

Moreover, having allocated all my points to Intelligence, I differed significantly from typical healers who often prioritized Spirit or a Spirit-Constitution hybrid build to ensure their own survival.

Intelligence provided a one-to-one ratio for magic attack bonus, whereas Spirit offered only a one-to-zero-point-six ratio.

Adding to this, as a pet, my base attribute gain upon each level-up was already one and a half times the norm.

With all these advantages combined, my magic attack, even without any equipment, now soared to an impressive 151 points, approximately double that of a regular priest player!

This meant that one of my healing spells was equivalent to two of theirs!

The trade-off, however, was a significantly reduced sustainability compared to other priests.

“I truly did put all my points into Intelligence,” I confirmed, nodding shyly.

“But you’re only wearing green equipment!” Faint Tobacco Scent exclaimed, his gaze now filled not just with infatuation, but outright admiration.

“Our elite team healers, with their full Intelligence builds and blue gear, still can’t reach your level!”

He continued, “Could it be that you’re a reserved candidate for the elite team, handpicked by the leader?”

‘The elite team?’

Having heard those three words repeatedly, a sudden alarm bell rang in my mind.

‘Valuable intelligence!’

The elite team, in all likelihood, represented the guild’s top combat strength, and it was entirely possible I would soon face them head-on!

“Oh, please, don’t flatter me so,” I demurred, pouring a mana potion down my throat while intermittently casting healing spells.

“How could someone like me possibly qualify for such an exalted position as the elite team?”

“Though, I must admit, I’ve always yearned to be part of such a distinguished group,” I mused, then pointed.

“Hey, is that man up front, the one in blue gear tanking the monster, an elder from the elite team? He’s been holding his own for so long without dying!”

The BOSS’s health had already dropped below forty percent.

“Him? Oh no, he’s just an off-tank from the guild,” a burly priest beside me interjected.

“The main tank died during the BOSS’s half-health counterattack, so he’s just filling in temporarily.”

“Big brother, could you tell me a little more about the elite team?” I asked, batting my eyelashes.

“I’m terribly curious!”

“No problem at all!” the burly man boomed, his face flushing crimson as he puffed out his chest and thumped it loudly.

“When it comes to the elite team, no one in this priest corps knows more than I do!”

He proudly gave a thumbs-up and began to elaborate with a wealth of detail, as if listing his own treasured possessions: “The elite team consists of seven members, all of whom possess top-tier equipment and strength, far surpassing us ‘little salted fish’ (TL Note: A Chinese slang term referring to someone who is weak or useless, often used self-deprecatingly).”

“The team includes a Godborn (TL Note: A race in the game) tank warrior specializing in defense, a Human (TL Note: A race in the game) damage-dealing warrior, a Human crowd-control ice mage, a Godborn powerful fire mage, a Human main healer priest with a full Intelligence build, a Human instant-kill assassin, and a Demon (TL Note: A race in the game) illusionist who debuffs attributes.”

[Intelligence: The elite team comprises seven members, possesses a complete combat setup, and will be exceptionally challenging to deal with!]

Displaying a look of profound yearning, I cast another healing spell.

“Are they here today?” I inquired.

“Of course they’re here! We’re all essentially working for them today,” the burly man replied, his gaze turning suspicious.

“Sister, how did you even get in here if you didn’t know that?”

However, upon meeting my innocent, wide-eyed stare, his suspicions instantly vanished.

“Once the BOSS’s health is down to a sliver, the elite team will step in.”

“Our only job is to keep them healed, ensuring they land the final blow and claim the BOSS’s experience.”

He added, “Afterward, the guild leader will distribute guild contribution points to all participants based on their damage output and healing.”

[Intelligence: When the BOSS’s health drops to a sliver, the elite team will take over, and other players will cease attacking. The BOSS’s health depletion rate will significantly decrease — in other words, there’s an opportunity to steal the kill!]

“Hehe~ Actually, I snuck in with my brother,” I confessed, hugging my priest’s staff and making a pitiful, pleading gesture.

“Please don’t tell the guild leader… otherwise, my brother will be in big trouble!”

The burly man pondered this for a moment.

‘Just a small priest like me; there shouldn’t be any issues. If I were a spy, I would simply need to relay the news that Sword Sweeping the World was fighting the BOSS. Blending into the crowd would be utterly pointless and would only cost me my life.’

Watching me diligently heal the party members, the burly man chuckled heartily.

“Alright then, brothers and sisters of the priest corps,” he announced, “let’s all keep this a secret, okay?”

He was likely the leader of the priest corps, and the surrounding players graciously responded with approving ‘OK’ gestures.

“Alright, everyone, the BOSS is about to hit thirty percent health and enter its third phase!” the burly man roared, his voice taut with tension as he eyed the BOSS’s health bar.

“We’ve already suffered heavy losses in the first two phases, losing a full third of our people.”

“We absolutely cannot let our guard down in this third phase!”

He commanded, “All members of the priest corps, rally your spirits! Prepare to face the final counterattack! All priests, listen up: fall back beyond fifty meters! Priest Group 1, have your largest instant-healing skills ready! Priest Group 2, prepare your area-of-effect healing spells!”

“If the Main Tank falls, don’t panic, but be wary of aggroing (TL Note: ‘Aggroing’ refers to drawing the monster’s aggression or ‘threat’ in an MMORPG context)!” he instructed.

“If the BOSS targets a healer, that healer must immediately charge toward the BOSS, sacrificing themselves without hesitation! Everyone else, wait for the next off-tank to draw its aggro (TL Note: ‘Aggro’ refers to drawing the monster’s aggression or ‘threat’ in an MMORPG context)!”

At thirty percent health, the BOSS entered its desperate counterattack phase!

In the arena, the colossal Red Water Dragon let out a furious roar, its head thrown back, instantly forcing the health of all surrounding players down by more than half a bar and inducing a stun effect!

The stun lasted for a considerable duration, and during this time, the Red Water Dragon violently spread its wings, instantly crushing the diminutive player warriors beneath its feet!

Immediately afterward, brilliant red lightning began to shimmer around the crimson bone horns on its head!

“CRACKLE!”

Centered on the Red Water Dragon’s sharp horn, a thirty-meter radius of indiscriminate lightning bombardment suddenly erupted!

Within that thirty-meter vacuum zone, every player, including the main and off-tanks who hadn’t managed to retreat in time, was utterly incinerated!

“Damn it! The tank’s dead, and the backup tank is thirty meters away—too far to snatch aggro (TL Note: ‘Aggro’ refers to drawing the monster’s aggression or ‘threat’ in an MMORPG context) in time! It’s going to aggro (TL Note: ‘Aggro’ refers to drawing the monster’s aggression or ‘threat’ in an MMORPG context)!” the burly man muttered nervously, his eyes fixed intently on the BOSS.

After the lightning bombardment subsided, the BOSS’s sharp horns became enveloped in a layer of scorching crimson lightning.

Every second, this lightning would randomly strike a point within thirty meters of the BOSS.

“Any ranged class targeted, prepare to sacrifice yourselves!” he shouted.

“Under no circumstances must it be allowed to charge into the main group!”

The very next second, the Red Water Dragon’s crimson eyes locked onto me.

Even from a distance, I could distinctly feel its target was unequivocally me; not anyone beside me, but me alone.

It seemed I had been a little too zealous with my healing spells earlier, inadvertently becoming the top healer in the party and thus drawing the BOSS’s aggro (TL Note: ‘Aggro’ refers to drawing the monster’s aggression or ‘threat’ in an MMORPG context).

‘This, indeed, was an awkward predicament.’

Gritting my teeth, I tightened my grip on my priest’s staff, broke away from the priest corps, and charged headlong towards the rampaging Red Water Dragon!

At that very moment, another slender figure shot like an arrow from behind the crowd, streaking directly toward the BOSS!

“Dragon Pounces Moon!”