Chapter 21 - ORIGIN VILLAGE
WHEN Lou Yan walked out of the small room, he discovered that he was actually inside a small hut. There was not much furniture around, only a wooden table and chair. There was also a small cooking space with matching clay pots and pans. After looking around and finding that there wasn't anything of importance, he decided to go out.
Opening the door, he felt like he just entered a new world. The first thing he saw was the tall and lush trees around. Silent vines were suspended on every tree. White flowers bloomed on some of the vines which only added some kind of elegance to the scenery. It was clearly night time but there were shining crystals floating in the air that easily lightened up the whole surrounding. It was quite magical, really.
He looked up and stared at the big moon on the starry sky. It's so big that it almost looked like you could touch it if you just climbed a slightly elevated place.
According to what he read, the time inside Arcadia was the same as the time in the real world or at least the same as the time in their country. But if Luo Yan remembered correctly, it was only four in the afternoon when he and Luo Jin entered the game. So why was it already night time here? Unless it's always night time in this origin village. That wouldn't be surprising considering this origin village belonged to the moon elves.
Luo Yan walked and fully turned his attention to the surrounding. He noticed the location of his small hut was in a wide forest clearing. It was not only his hut but there were also other cottages spread around the whole clearing. There were even other moon elves walking around. This clearing was obviously the location of the moon elves' village.
He opened his Game Tab and picked the Map option. There was only one map inside which was the map of this village. On the top right corner of the map, there were two options that a player could click - NPCs and Establishments. If you clicked NPCs, then the map would show you the location of the important NPCs and when you clicked Establishments, it would then show you the location of different key buildings.
He didn't hesitate to click NPCs. Luo Yan wanted to know where the Elder of this village was. When he played the PC version, he chose the human race. In the origin village of the humans, the NPC of the village Elder had the most information. He was thinking that it was probably the same here.
When he locked the position of the Elder, he was preparing to walk in the direction in accordance to the map, but someone suddenly blocked his way. Luo Yan raised his head and saw an elf with the same white hair, but his eyes were green instead of blue. On top of the elf's head was the name 'Ivan'. Which meant that this elf was an NPC.
"Noctis, the Elder summons you to his yurt," the NPC Ivan said with not much emotion.
Luo Yan readily closed his Status Window. This was probably an automatic event. Once the new player walked out of his hut, an NPC would come to them and led them to the village Elder. If someone was going to lead the way, then he didn't need to follow the map anymore. "Please, lead the way."
Ivan turned around and walked. Luo Yan silently followed. While walking, he couldn't help but marvel at how life-like the surrounding environment and even the NPCs were. Not only that, but all of his senses wer being engaged. It's like he really went and entered another world. Two thumbs up was not enough to express his admiration to the game developer and its design team.
Ivan stopped in front of a huge white yurt. The yurt was a dome shaped tent made up of special material. It was surrounded by wild flowers and green vines. Ivan opened the entrance to the yurt and Luo Yan followed inside.
The floor was covered in a soft carpet. A shelf of books were standing on the left side of the yurt. Luo Yan could see a soft bed on the side. There was a space for dining and even cooking. And at the center of it all sat an elf with the same long pure white hair. His eyes were also blue with golden specks. His skin was white and delicate. On top of his head was the word 'Elder'.
Luo Yan thought that the Elder would be old, he didn't expect to see a beauty. And this beauty could even rival his own. From the Elder's appearance to the simple yet elegant clothes he was wearing, it was obvious that the design team put a lot of effort in designing this NPC.
The Elder looked at him and a warm smile bloomed on his beautiful face. "Noctis, come and sit, child."
With the Elder's greeting, Luo Yan walked forward and sat on the opposite chair.
The Elder turned to Ivan. "Thank you, Ivan, for bringing him here. You may go now."
Ivan bowed and walked out of the yurt.
"Noctis, I just recently remembered that your coming-of-age ceremony will soon come. After that, you have the right to leave the village. Are you planning to leave after that?" the Elder first said.
"Yes, Elder," Luo Yan answered. This coming-of-age ceremony would probably happen once he reached level 10.
"It's a dangerous world out there. I don't want to send another child out of the village only for him to get killed at the end. Our population is declining as it is. A single loss would be detrimental to our race. Do you still want to go despite that?"
"Yes," he answered seriously even though he knew this was just all play-acting.
"Then you need to gain experience. So you would have the ability to protect yourself," the Elder said in a helpless tone as if he was already expecting his answer. "Our race is the darling of the moon. We are stronger under its influence. We are not like other elves. Our greatest friend is not the forest but the shadows. We could walk thru it and let it be our cloak. Please, don't forget this advantages during your journey."
What the Elder said gave Luo Yan a little bit of understanding about Moon Elves. They were a small, dwindling race which thrive under the influence of the moon. But the thing about the shadows was a bit vague. Though he had a bit of an idea of what it could mean.
"I understand, Elder."
Then the Elder took a map from the stack of papers on the table and gave it to Luo Yan. A notification screen suddenly appeared in front of Luo Yan.
'Save the map of Crescent Woodlands?'
Below it was a yes or no option. Luo Yan immediately pressed 'yes'.
"This is the map of the Crescent Woodlands. There's a vine invasion at the Northern part of the forest. Can you go there and handle the problem?" the Elder asked.
Once again, a notification screen appeared in front of him.
'Accept the task of killing 30 Blights?'
Luo Yan, of course, didn't hesitate to pressed 'yes'. After that, he said goodbye to the Elder and walked out of the yurt.
Once outside, he opened his Status Window and went to his Game Tab. He pointed to the Task Column and under it appeared his first task;
-- Kill 30 Blights at the Northern part of Crescent Woodlands.
-- Additional task (a player is not required to finish this): Find the source of the Blights and kill it.
Luo Yan smiled, making his beautiful face even more enchanting. If there were other people around, they would surely be captivated by this smile. With this first task, he could say that he truly entered the game.