A long time passed—long enough for the sun to sink, stretching the shadow of the crooked oak tree long and thin.
Finally, a door creaked open. Auntie Dolly, her face still stained with tears, cautiously cracked her door open a couple of inches. Only after confirming that the witch had left did she dare to step outside.
One wooden door after another was carefully pushed open. The villagers of Ashes Village poked their heads out, looking around warily, before eventually gathering in front of the village chief's house.
“...Is she really gone?”
“I watched her leave. She headed north.”
“Oh, heavens... I nearly wet myself...”
“She kept asking if we needed help, over and over. I didn't dare utter a single word...”
“Tell me about it. I was too terrified to speak, either.”
“I can't believe we actually survived a run-in with a witch...”
“This witch actually seems a bit better than those lords. At least she didn't take our things...”
The crowd fell silent for a brief moment.
“What nonsense are you spouting!” a stubble-faced man snapped, interrupting. “That is a witch. Don't you dare say such things again.”
Supported by someone, Old John limped over. His face was paler than paper, but his expression had regained some composure—or at least, he appeared calm on the surface.
He swept his gaze across the square, where the three corpses lay sprawled in disarray. Then he looked at the villagers gathered outside his door, their eyes red and swollen. He let out a deep sigh, as if exhaling the very last of his strength.
His waist bent a bit further, the curve of his hunched back resembling the crooked oak at the village entrance, never to be straightened again.
“Prepare to flee for your lives...”
No one answered. Everyone just stared at him.
In his youth, he had ventured out into the wider world. He had seen how soldiers dealt with villages that couldn't pay their taxes, and he had seen town mayors bowing and scraping before mages.
For figures of such stature to die here, the blame would undoubtedly fall on their heads.
“Three lords have died here. There is no good end waiting for us. We must run while we still can. Whether we end up as slaves or something else, at least...”
“...we'll be alive.”
The wind swept up the ashes on the ground, swirling them toward the north. A crow perched on a withered branch of the crooked oak tree, tilting its head to look at the shivering humans before letting out a raspy caw.
Further off in the sky, the sun had sunk to its last sliver, painting the edges of the clouds in brilliant gold. A faint moon began to materialize in the western sky.
Leaving the dust and smoke of Ashes Village behind, Wu Yao walked along the Northern Path. Her pace was leisurely, and she occasionally kicked a pebble by the roadside, watching it roll into the grass and startle a few glowing insects. The tiny creatures trailed pale green streaks of light before abruptly vanishing into the twilight.
“They don't even have health bars...” Wu Yao pouted. “You can't fight them, you can't harvest them, and there's zero interaction. If it weren't for the incredibly detailed models, who would play such a boring game...”
Out of sheer boredom, she plucked a handful of grass by the path, accidentally pulling the entire plant up by its roots. Just as she was about to let go and toss it aside, a system notification suddenly popped up.
【Unlocked ???. Plant Compendium entry +1.】
【The Compendium feature will unlock at Level 1.】
“Oh?” Wu Yao's eyes lit up. She immediately pulled up several other weeds of different varieties. Although the system indicated they were recorded, the Compendium feature remained inactive.
Do basic features like the Compendium and inventory really require Level 1 to unlock?
Is there something wrong with this game's early-stage design?
Wu Yao's desire to level up reached its absolute peak.
Objective 1 was already complete, but she had no idea what counted as completing Objective 2.
“Evade the first wave of pursuers at the very least.” Yet, she hadn't seen hide nor hair of any pursuers, leaving her with no choice but to wander forward aimlessly.
Glancing at her nearly full mana bar, she decided to study her Fireball spell as she walked.
After casting those few Fireballs earlier, her spell proficiency had increased, though by varying amounts. The first cast gave her 6 points, the second gave 3, the third gave the most at 8 points, and the subsequent ones only gave 3...
What's the pattern here?
Wu Yao slowed her pace and stopped in front of a withered tree. Raising her right hand, flames danced in her palm, and a standard Fireball quickly took shape. She hurled it at the dry bark, leaving a charred mark the size of a bowl.
【Fireball Proficiency +3】
A second Fireball formed in her palm. This time, she compressed the restless particles inward, releasing the spell only when they reached their absolute limit. The charred mark on the tree was completely blasted through. Splinters of wood exploded in all directions, and with a tooth-gritting screech, the upper half of the tree canopy crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
【Fireball Proficiency +8】
“Wow, compressing it gives so much more.” Wu Yao stroked her chin, thinking that this made sense. The mental effort required for the two methods was on completely different levels.
In that case, how else could she play around with Fireball?
This time, instead of shaping it into a sphere, she began to stretch the fireball into a long, thin arrow. The particles were clearly unaccustomed to this command; they naturally preferred to cluster into the most uniform, energy-efficient sphere possible.
The uncooperative particles made her experiment highly difficult. She had to drag back the stray particles escaping from the edges one by one, which drained her mental energy even faster.
Fortunately, she still managed to tame the unruly particles. A flaming arrow spun rapidly in her hand before flying out in a wobbly trajectory. It fell apart on its own before hitting anything, dispersing into a small shower of sparks in the air.
【Fireball Proficiency +5】
That shouldn't be right. I spent even more effort on this than on compression. Does hitting a target affect proficiency gain too?
Wu Yao casually shot a Fireball upward. Sparks scattered, and her proficiency increased by 1.
Alright, it definitely has an effect, and a pretty significant one at that.
She stretched the Fireball into a flaming arrow once more. With her previous experience, the fire elements were much more cooperative. To guarantee a hit, she stood directly in front of a large boulder.
The flaming arrow struck the boulder with pinpoint accuracy, embedding itself like a physical arrow before detonating, shattering the stone along its cracks. This single strike granted her 10 proficiency points!
Wu Yao was extremely satisfied. If a mere novice skill could be played with in so many ways, she would be able to enjoy this game for a very long time.
The sky had darkened completely. Two moons hung in the western heavens. The larger one emitted a soft, pale golden light, resembling a lamp draped in sheer fabric.
The smaller one, however, was incredibly bright. Though only a third of the size of the pale golden moon, its light was not suppressed in the slightest. Instead, it was even more dazzling than its larger neighbor.
Wu Yao stared at it for several seconds, confirming it wasn't an illusion. There really were numerous starlike silver glints shimmering upon that silver moon.
This moon looked very similar to the one she had seen when she first entered the game. Its silver light rippled as if life itself were slowly flowing within it.
Wu Yao tilted her head back, staring at the silver moon without blinking. She couldn't tell if it was just an illusion from staring too long, but she felt as though the small moon were watching her.
When the silver light shifted, it looked like an eye moving its gaze. The level of detail in this game was a pleasant surprise. Feeling even more cheerful, she raised her hand and waved at the silver moon. “Hello!”
The silver moon seemed to flicker in response.
Rate on N.U.
