Bab 11: The Game Begins

( Silverpine Village, one of the many newbie spawn villages in Terra Nova Online )

Leo found himself teleported to Silverpine Village once his character panel was created, almost immediately, he was engulfed by icy gusts of wind, each one sharper and more biting than the last, sending shivers coursing through his body.

[ Random starting point chosen - Silverpine Village, please use the voice activated command 'open map' to know more ]

"Open Map"

Leo used the command and instantly a map of his surroundings opened up as he realised that he was high atop a frosty mountain with Silverpine Village being the village located at the highest altitude on the mountain.

The mountain he was on was called 'Mount Gavon' and it housed a total of 9 villages at different altitudes.

According to the map, Leo was at an altitude of about 4000 metres above sea level, whereas the summit of the mountain was at about 6000 metres.

He was wearing the default layman's clothing that was more suited for a warm climate as it was clear from his clothing that it provided little to no protection against the icy cold winds.

Leo noticed how his surroundings felt extremely realistic as although his mind knew that this was only a game, every sensation within the game felt extremely detailed and real.

He could clearly feel the direction of the wind and he could feel the difference in temperature as to how the wind felt under his clothing versus how it felt on his exposed skin.

He could clearly hear the rustling of dry tree branches and the sound his boots made from walking on ice.

"Ouch"

He felt a numbing sensation on his skin as he pinched it as the area where he pinched himself turned slightly red and swollen which amazed Leo to no end.

Even on earth there had been some sort of full dive VR games, however, while they were semi-realistic, this game was like reality itself.

Whether it was the surround sound, the effect of having low oxygen in the surrounding air or how different parts of his body reacted differently to the environment as if every inch of his skin was alive was truly mesmerising.

[ Alert: Health Decreased by -0.2HP due to Prolonged Exposure to Extreme Cold. Seek Shelter Immediately to Prevent Frostbite. ]

Leo was jolted by this notification as he made way towards the village wall nearby.

While he was teleported in the wild, just a few hundred metres from his location was the Silverpine Village whose boundaries were marked by thick wooden walls with archer towers built behind them at regular intervals.

Although Leo was no genius detective, he knew that the only reason why a village invested in border safety was to either deal with human invasion or to handle wild animals.

Since the village was situated remotely at a high altitude it was unlikely that there would be other humans vying for its land, which meant that the protection was most likely put in place to deal with wild animals.

As he walked a bit towards the village entrance he saw some other newbies in layman's clothing also making their way towards the entrance as Leo realised that they must be the other players on the arc ship.

From their numbers they did not seem to be more than a few dozen, which meant that there must be countless more newbie villages that were not located in the little map of this mountain.

Either there were several such mountains, or there were different terrain for everyone to start and just like he ended up on a frosty mountain it was possible that someone would start on a warm beach or a rainforest.

This theory of his could be easily confirmed once he talked to Luke and the others in Sector E, which is why Leo did not pay much heed to it at the moment and shifted his focus to others entering the village.

Although the winds outside were cold, he wasn't shivering uncontrollably, however, some of the other players that he observed were somehow facing this difficulty.

The one's shivering also looked lanky and like their physique was weak while those who were not shivering looked like they were strong and had several layers of muscle to keep themselves warm.

Could it be the physique stat at play? Leo wondered, but he could not be sure.

There were two guards at the entrance of the village and they seemed to be collecting some sort of a small entrance fee from all players that were trying to enter the village.

Initially Leo felt surprised as to how everyone had the fee that the guards were asking for since it had not been more than five minutes that most players had entered the game, when he suddenly realised that it must be something everyone received from the newbie welcome kit.

He had not yet opened his welcome kit, and hence did not possess any coins, which is why the first thing that he did was to open the welcome kit.

[ Congratulations you have opened the welcome kit box and have received-

20x bronze coins.

5x silver coins.

1x gold coin.

1x bloody soldier robe

1x government letter ( sealed )

1x steel sword ( common )

1x Virex Black Ops Mask ( Members only) ]

[ System Notification - 'Actor' class unique mission triggered!

Poise as a government soldier of the Virex Black Ops and accept the Village Leaders quest.

Quest Difficulty - B+

Quest Rewards - +10 levels, + class unlocking

Failure Penalty - You will be imprisoned by the village for identity fraud.

Time limit - none

– You cannot decline the mission, goodluck! ]

The moment Leo opened his inventory he was immediately bombarded with a mandatory quest.

He was handed his first role as the actor class and was instructed to poise as a government soldier belonging to the Virex Black Ops.

While the other players entered the village to seek shelter and figure out how to play the game, Leo was going to have to pose as an entity who he had absolutely no information about and if he failed in the quest or was caught for identity theft he was going to suffer imprisonment in this extremely cold village.

"Guess there's no rest for the fraudster, acting starts day1" murmured Leo to himself as he put on the soldier robes and the Virex mask in a place where he was hidden from the view of the common players.

Unlike how realistic the game felt, it did not make the player actually undress and put on a set of clothes physically as just by selecting the 'Equip' option within one's inventory their existing clothes were swapped for the ones they actually wanted to wear.

Just like that, Leo changed into the role of the government soldier as taking a deep breath he finally began his journey towards the village entrance.

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Pilih

KIRIM HADIAH

Bab 12: Entering The Village

Leo felt nervous as he walked towards the village entrance as not only did the players take notice of him, but the village guards did as well.

He was limping slightly as he walked in character towards the village wall as he wanted the village guards to assume that the reason behind why he was wearing bloody robes was because he was injured and not because he was forced to kill some enemy.

Being far from a seasoned actor, his inconsistent limping was a dead giveaway of his inexperience as each step he took varied slightly from the last, a telltale sign to any observant onlooker that his injury was a fake, however, fortunately for him, the attention of the village guards was captivated not by his gait, but by his mask, which, for reasons unknown, held significant intrigue for them.

"SIR! This is Private Ryan here SIR!, US Air Force commander, SIR!, please tell me if I can assist you anyway possible SIR!" A man suddenly shouted as he appeared in front of Leo and began stomping his feet in traditional military salute everytime he shouted SIR!

He was wearing the layman's clothing so Leo knew that he was a player, but his sudden antics prompted all the nearby players to pay full attention to this interaction making Leo feel awkward to have been put in a spot.

Leo could clearly make out that the man in front of him was lying, his posture was pathetic and his designation was even more ridiculous.

He assumed the title of a commander after introducing himself as a 'private', because it was probably the only military title he knew about which made Leo sure that he was a complete novice, since no commander would shamelessly introduce themselves first and display such a lackey-like behaviour.

Leo was 99% sure that the man was trying to see if Leo issued a quest to him, since this was a game and he did not look like a player like the rest of them wearing layman's clothing, but unfortunately, Leo was not an NPC.

"Out of my way-" Leo said with the same tone as a pissed off old man who was rushing to a convenience store to buy a cigarette as he walked straight past fake Private Ryan, without giving him any face.

Audible laughter could be heard as the other players burst out laughing having witnessed the spectacular failure of Private Ryan and even Leo was forced to suppress a chuckle.

Thankfully, no other players bothered him anymore and instead made way for him as he approached the village guards.

"Greetings soldier-, May I know the purpose behind your visit?" One of the two village guards asked, as Leo did not answer immediately but rather waited for a few seconds as he stared directly into the eyes of the two guards.

Staring directly into the eyes of someone was an intimidation tactic he had learnt from living on the streets.

Those who had something to hide, would subconsciously avoid eye-contact, however, if you stared confidently into someone's eyes it was more likely that they would believe you.

"I'm here to meet the village chief, I have government business to discuss with him" Leo said as he flashed the government letter with the kingdom's stamp on it.

"Oh, it seems like you are here on official business, please let me lead the way," the village guard on the right said, as he signalled for Leo to follow him into the village.

Sighing in relief, Leo followed the man into the village as he slowly faded out of the curious gazes of the players outside.

He had managed to get into the village without having to pay an entrance fee like the rest of the players which was a small consolation on its own, however, unlike them he was not free to do as he pleased within the village, but had to conform to his role as the government soldier.

His relief at being able to enter was short-lived as he was quickly guided towards the village chief's quarters due to which he did not get much opportunity to observe the village and it's beauty in depth, but his first impression of the place was that it was just like a fantasy town straight out of mediaeval times.

Wooden houses with smoke coming out of makeshift chimneys, narrow paved roads that had a thin layer of snow covering them and villagers dressed in thick fur clothing mostly made out of wolf skin were some sights that Leo observed before arriving before the chief's house.

"Please wait here while I inform the chief of your arrival" the guard said as he politely bowed to Leo before excusing himself for a while.

The part of the village where he was standing at the moment seemed to be the local residential district, whereas the part where the newly spawned players were resting was the area where the taverns, motels and adventurer guilds were based.

"A Virex mask? Are you sure?"

Leo heard someone saying from a distance as he could hear the sound of approaching footsteps.

Soon, the village guard was back alongside another man who Leo assumed was the chief of the village, as the tall and stout man examined Leo and the mask that he was wearing.

"Why is a Virex operative in my town? I hope none of my villagers are on your hitlist" The village chief said with scrutiny as he tried to probe Leo for some information.

The village chief was 6 foot two and built like a literal bear.

If Leo was to take him on, he was sure that the man could punch him out unconscious with a single blow, but despite the intimidating stature, Leo maintained his calm.

"The business I have in this village is stated clearly in this letter, however, it's a conversation we best have in private" Leo said as he handed over the government letter to the village chief who tore open the seal and began reading it immediately.

The tense expression on his face eased significantly as he read the letter and by the end of it he was even smiling as he chuckled out loud.

"Hahaha, so you're here to help us with the wolf problem, how rude of me. Please, come in, let's discuss this in my hall.

Have you had dinner yet? Please honour my family by having dinner with us today.

Oh- you're injured? Fayley, go call the healer Miss Shayana.

Oh, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Brahim, the elected chief of Silverpine Village, and it's my as well as my village's honour to host a warrior of your calibre, esteemed Virex operative sir 'The Boss' " Brahim said as Leo needed a moment to process the sudden 180° shift in his attitude.

Leo had no idea what was written in that letter, however, from Brahim's reaction he assumed that it was something related to the wolf problem that this village was facing and not some execution order like Brahim had assumed.

Once he realised that Leo was not there to kill anyone, his attitude softened significantly, however, Leo could not help but feel uneasy internally.

He had a strong gut feeling that the quest he was going to be forced to undertake would be a wolf extermination mission, a mission that he was not skilled enough to accept.

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Pilih

KIRIM HADIAH