My Magus Academy is Run by Players?! [Western Cultivation LitRPG]

“Burn! Yes, burn them all to hell!” someone excitedly exclaimed in a quiet voice.

Other players were also equally excited, their hearts pounding with anticipation. Even Sean couldn’t conceal the grin that spread across his face. It wasn’t that they were all lunatics or arsonists; rather, they saw an opportunity to claim an abundance of merit points by eradicating the bandits with the flames in one fell swoop.

For a fact, each captured or slain bandit would reward them with a substantial five hundred merit points, which was a far more lucrative prospect than dealing with arachnids. Furthermore, elite bandits offered at least double the rewards. Although the players weren’t sure about the classifications beyond identifying them by their appearances, the scarred middle-aged man leading the bandits likely held a high rank. He might even be the bandit boss, which might give them even more merit points! This was the reason for their excitement.

As the flames kept spreading everywhere, Sean’s enthusiasm was cut short. He noticed a sudden rush of water gushing from the bandits’ location, extinguishing the fire blocking them. Despite the fiery barrier separating them, they were not retreating back into the valley. Instead, their silhouettes began to move with haste, circling around the edges of the fire. With each passing second, it became clear to him that the bandits were moving toward their location, and it was not just a coincidence.

“Oh shoot, they’re coming here! Our location must have been found out!” Sean cursed.

“What? How?” asked a nearby player. “I wasn’t even that loud…”

That was exactly the question. It seemed like they knew exactly where to find them.

“Beats me.” Sean shrugged his shoulders. “I bet they have a magic tool or something to track us,” he speculated and then smiled cynically. “Or maybe what we deem quiet is just too darn loud for them.”

Panic sparked among the players as they scrambled to their feet, ready to escape at a moment’s notice. While all the players here were those with the distraction missions, only a fraction of them were Initiate Attunement acolytes. As for those who dug the trenches and holes, they were already returning to the academy.

Patrick, however, maintained his cool demeanor. “Well, magicians of this world sure do have their own tricks up their sleeves. So, what should we do now, leader?”

Sean suggested, getting on his feet, “We should get out of here. Quick!”

“Don’t be a chicken. Let’s face them right here.” Chicken cracked his knuckles, ready for some action.

Butterfly rolled her eyes and mocked, “Hmph. Can’t you be more stupid than this?”

“Mhm, it is indeed wiser to strategically retreat in this situation,” Patrick concurred. 

Chicken blinked in confusion. “Why?”

Realizing that Chicken needed a more logical explanation, Sean clarified, “We're completely outnumbered. Judging by their movements, it seems the fire didn’t really thin out their numbers much. We could ask for reinforcements from other players, but high-ranking players have their own roles to play and are all far away from here; even if they help us, not only will it take too much time to reach this place, but it will also ruin the plans. Either way, let’s move out!”

Thus, all the players there immediately evacuated the site, urgently retreating in the direction of the academy as fast as they could. Even though there was compensation for dying in missions, none of them were willing to throw their lives away willy-nilly. When it was time to retreat, it had to be done without a shred of hesitation.

Unfortunately, it became painfully clear that they wouldn’t be able to put much distance between themselves and the pursuing bandits. Despite their geographical advantage and head start, some bandits displayed an unsettling agility, outpacing the players for reasons unknown — these bandits were definitely not normal people!

“This is a dead-end. Either we’re hunted down one by one, or some of us become bait to let the rest escape… Although, that would lead them straight to the academy,” Sean urgently proposed as he ran. He was considering this option, knowing that the headmaster was at the academy, and he would surely vanquish all these bandits… Only that there might be unwanted consequences, and the players might not be willing to sacrifice themselves for this cause. He had to think of another way.

“Hmm, at least only a fraction of their group is chasing us here. If the bandit boss and those mages were the ones pursuing us, I bet we’d be long dead,” Patrick analyzed.

“Damn! They’re underestimating us too much!”

Desperation set in, and the gravity of their situation weighed heavily on them. Even though the top-tier enemies weren’t the ones on their tails, it felt like they were being toyed with. Most likely because they were too weak.

Sean’s thoughts raced as he contemplated his next move. I should do something… It’s better than all of us dying here. He then thought of a plan and came to an abrupt stop, catching the attention of the players behind him.

“What are you doing?! Keep running!” one of the players right behind him shouted without slowing down his sprint.

“No.” He raised his palm in firm rejection. “Go! I’ll hold them off!” Sean shouted with a voice laced with resolve.

“What are you, nuts?” The player who had shouted earlier finally slowed down and looked back with an expression of disbelief. The others also came to a halt and stared at him as if observing a suicidal person.

“If you stay, then we’ll stay too!” Chicken stepped forward.

The rest of his party also followed suit. At least he had the backing of loyal friends in this dire situation.

“If you people stay, then our party will fight alongside you.” A tall and handsome blond-haired player joined in. He was known by the username “GiveMeTheNuclearCode” or NuclearCode for short. If Sean hadn’t known better about some of his questionable comments on the official website forum or the true meaning of his username, he would have taken him as an upright individual.

“We’re staying as well.”

“Let’s fight them together!”

As it became clear that everyone present was committed to standing their ground and fighting back, the player who had initially urged Sean to keep running clenched his fists. “Damn it. It would look uncool if I were the only one to run away with my tail between my legs.”

“Alright! It seems that we’re on the same page here.” Sean smiled; this was his plan.

All he needed to do now was to give these bandits one “last surprise” and show the world that newer players like themselves could make an impact in this game world.

“You listen to me, and you listen to me good…”

***

Exactly twelve elite mercenaries — all of them Ki-Warriors — chased after the perpetrators responsible for setting the forest ablaze and nearly blocking their escape route. They were told to trail them to find out the real culprit who had made their lives difficult. Leading this formidable group was Rylan, the buff Ki-Warrior with a mace. He was known as the “Mighty Minotaur” due to his legendary strength, capable of downing bulls with a single punch. Among mercenaries, his name struck fear into the hearts of many.

All of a sudden, he stopped in his tracks, and his eyes scanned the ground. The trail they had been following was abruptly cut short. “Could they catch wind of us? Figures, probably got a few acolytes among ‘em.”

To him, the situation was pretty puzzling. The signs shown thus far felt like they had been left by amateurs, but that didn’t explain how they had repeatedly fallen into them. A bad feeling washed over him as he thought of a possibility, and he turned to address the other mercenaries.

“Ya three, scout ahead for me!”

The chosen trio were only Ki-Initials, which were two ranks below him. As such, they didn’t dare defy his command and advanced cautiously to investigate.

Just as one of the mercenaries stepped on a peculiar patch of ground, he tumbled into a concealed pitfall. “Agh!”

“What happened?”

“Uargh!” Another one screamed as a vine snared his leg and hoisted him up into the branches of a tall tree.

Then, the last one, distracted by the two traps triggering, tripped on a thick tree root and fell to a pile of mud. It was truly the cherry on top.

“Shit! Ya three fell for such basic traps! Utterly useless!”

As Rylan’s yelling echoed, the surrounding bushes rustled, and the ground trembled slightly, revealing small trenches. Roughly two dozen people emerged from there, encircling the elite mercenaries from every direction, weapons in hand. They spread out, positioning themselves strategically behind the natural barriers offered by the terrain. With the crazed expression on their faces, it felt as if the hunters had suddenly become the hunted.

“Surprise, motherfuckers!” The one leading them smiled sinisterly.

“Bastards!” That sentence coming from Rylan’s mouth became the cue for these “monsters” to attack.

***

The players stood at the ready. Their faces set in grim lines of determination as their hands firmly clutching the assortments of weapons.

This was it — the final surprise that Sean had concocted.

“Time to rock and roll!” Sean declared.

With faces locked in unwavering resolve, they raised their weapons high, ready to fight till their last drop of blood.

“Everyone, attack! Attack! Show ‘em what we’re made of!” Chicken’s rallying cry echoed as he charged ahead.

“Charge!!”

“Call the ambulance! But not for me!”

“Who let the dogs out?!”

“Shazam!”

“…!”

As usual, the traditional and eccentric war cries reverberated through the forest as the players charged headlong toward the startled bandits. It seemed to have boosted their courage several times since the close combatants’ speed became so much faster than when they were running away, causing the bandits to flinch in a bewildered mixture of confusion and fear.

Spells were cast, arrows were nocked, and swords were drawn as they braced for the impending clash. Soon, the clash of metal on metal and the crackle of magic spells filled the air. Seizing the momentum, the players were able to push back the bandits with their superior numbers, inflicting injuries on some and even claiming the lives of a couple.

One of the players at the forefront, who had just slashed down a trapped bandit, winced slightly as blood splattered across his face. “Damn, did you see that blood and gore? It all feels way too real! What those players said on the alpha version 0.2 is true!”

“Huh, why doesn’t this game’s realism disturb me even though it’s so gruesome?”

“In any case, this works in our favor. Let’s finish them off!”

However, the bandits were also not without a fight. Most of the ones they managed to injure or kill were those who had fallen into their traps, while the remaining bandits fought back fiercely — similarly inflicting damage to their ranks. Unexplainably, these bandits exhibited extraordinary powers akin to Initiate Attunement acolytes and even displayed weapon techniques that looked similar to RPG skills!

“Die! Piercing Slash!” A bandit wielding a longsword swung downward toward a red-skinned player. “Hahaha! You hafta pay for what ya did— Wh-Wha? How?!”

The blade that was supposed to cut the flesh of the player was abruptly halted by her enormous hand, unable to move even an inch further. The bandits witnessing this were left in stunned disbelief, especially the wielder. Of course, the player in question was none other than ButterflyWingsAreDelicious; she was the strongest combatant they had among them.

“M-Monster!” Sean could hear the teeth chattering in the bandit’s voice.

“Am I a monster?” Butterfly’s expression was unchanged as she delivered a fast devastating punch, shattering the bandit’s head into a gruesome mess of blood and brain matter. His body tumbled to the ground like a rag doll.