: MOVING |
【 MOVING 】
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A light drizzle fell like silk threads, delicate and fine, casting a misty veil over the land.
Scattered houses emerged faintly through the fog, while the stone-paved roads had become streams, winding with collected rainwater. A breeze, carrying the earthy scent of wet soil, swept through the trees and bushes, rustling the rain-washed leaves that gleamed under the ashen sky.
In the vicinity, players hurried along the streets of Chosen City, each handling the downpour in their own way. Some wore straw raincoats sold by life-players, while others held makeshift umbrellas, and a few relied on casting low-level magical shield skills to stay dry.
Of course, the majority didn’t bother with any protection at all and simply let the rain soak their clothes and gear.
After all, it was just a spring drizzle.
Although getting drenched might feel a bit uncomfortable, catching a cold or falling ill was practically impossible, since their bodies weren’t ordinary to begin with.
In fact, many found getting soaked in the cool rain was actually quite refreshing.
Because of that, although there were still some pedestrians braving the damp streets, the city felt much quieter than usual. The familiar hawking and shouting of street merchants had been replaced by the soft, steady patter of rain, giving the city a rare moment of peace and stillness.
Evé actually liked this kind of weather.
Maybe it had something to do with having been reborn as the World Tree, but rainy days always gave her an unusual feeling of contentment, as if she were taking a deep, revitalizing sip of water.
Of course, now that her true form stood over ten thousand meters tall, the clouds would often only reach her waist.
From such heights, they looked like faint, drifting fogs far beneath her.
The world below had become blurred and unrecognizable, its once-familiar features shrinking into the likeness of a miniature diorama—that is, unless she directed her full attention to it.
Only then would the details gradually come into focus.
It was a peculiar sensation.
Only now, by seeing things in such grand scale from her high and lofty position, did Evé truly feel how massive she had become. Compared to when she first reawakened, her size had grown nearly tenfold, a transformation so vast it defied instinctive comprehension.
And even though she would usually channel her consciousness into one of her incarnations to interact more easily with the world, she still occasionally observed everything from the perspective of her true form.
There was a certain wonder in watching the world unfold from such a vast and encompassing vantage point. The clouds swirled beneath her, forming a rolling sea of mist. At sunrise or sunset, golden rays pierced the horizon, bathing the surroundings in radiant splendor. Whenever she intentionally gazed through the clouds or on clear, cloudless days, she could see the mountains and rivers stretching out beneath her feet.
—To see beyond the horizon, one must rise to lofty heights.
Only now did she fully understand the meaning of that saying.
At ten thousand meters tall, she could clearly see everything within a 300 to 400-kilometer radius even without using her divine senses…
Seeing the world from the World Tree’s point of view was a breathtaking experience, and it wasn’t just Evé who realized this as the players had discovered it too early on, even back when she first summoned them.
Over time, her vast canopy transformed into a renowned landmark within the game, drawing in countless players who considered it a must-see destination. Many eagerly climbed to experience the awe-inspiring bird’s-eye view of the Elven Forest, where they could admire the sweeping stretches of verdant green and the intricate beauty that only revealed itself from such towering heights.
Some reckless players even bungee-jumped from the treetop, causing several accidents down below, including shattered roofs and even player fatalities…
It wasn’t until Alice started penalizing such behavior by deducting their contribution points that the trend finally died down.
Now, with Eve’s true form having reached ten thousand meters tall and 200,000 new players flooding in, the World Tree’s canopy had once again became a tourist hotspot for sightseeing…
Yet Evé never expected that she would end up being one of the sightseers herself.
Standing atop the World Tree’s canopy, disguised under her in-game player identity as ‘Féng’ Evé couldn’t help but laugh wryly to herself.
This time, she had been dragged along against her will.
Beside her, the culprit, Little Salty Cat gazed down at the mist-shrouded sea of clouds below and marveled aloud:
“Wow…the view from up here is way better than before!”
“Well, we’re ten thousand meters up in the sky,” Meryer replied with a shrug. “Even I don’t usually fly this high.”
The black dragon was busy on the treetop, clutching strings of spatial rings in his claws as he bustled about, gathering gleaming jewels and gold from a pile in the canopy and stowing them away one by one into the rings.
Little Salty Cat glanced at the hoard Meryer was gathering, her expression odd.
“So that’s why the treasure in your castle seemed to be vanishing… I thought you had looted tons, but aside from that big golden bed of yours, everything else was gone. Turns out you stashed it all here.”
“Hmph! It’s because of those new Chosen Ones!” Meryer grumbled, clearly exasperated. “I just don’t get it! Why are they so obsessed with the treasure in my castle? They’re even more persistent than the humans were! Someone’s always sneaking in to steal from me the moment I drop my guard. Not even magic wards can keep them out, with some even going as far as digging tunnels underneath! Ever since this new batch showed up, they’ve been driving me absolutely crazy…”
Little Salty Cat couldn’t hold back a chuckle.
“Well, you can’t blame them. I mean, nothing screams ‘classic RPG’ like stealing from a dragon’s hoard…and let’s be real, nobody loots harder after a battle than you.”
“Hmph! Maybe I should deduct all their favorability to me to negative numbers!” Meryer fumed.
“…Though once you move to Sandstorm City, I doubt things will be much different.”
Little Salty Cat shook her head.
“Hehe, that’s nothing to worry about. Her Grace, the Goddess, has already granted me, Lord Meryer, access to the divine barrier defenses of Sandstorm City. So I’ll hide all my treasure deep within Sandstorm City. Hah! Let’s see who dares try anything then!”
The little black dragon snorted proudly.
But soon, Meryer turned to look down at the elven girl beside him.
“Hey, are you really not coming with me? Among all the Chosen Ones, you’re the only friend this lord has.”
Little Salty Cat shook her head.
“No thanks, I’ll pass. It’s just way too far. Even though the teleportation array is finally operational, I’d still have to hop through several of them just to reach Sandstorm City. It still takes half a day to get there.”
“I see.”
The little black dragon sounded a bit disappointed.
But Salty Cat quickly added, “However… I’ll still come visit you once a week. And I’ll make sure you have grilled meat every day. That much, I can manage.”
She patted her chest confidently.
“Hmph, does I, Lord Meryer look like the kind of dragon who cares about grilled meat? I won’t care if you come or not.”
The little black dragon raised his head proudly, though the large tail wagging happily behind him revealed a different story.
“I’ll return all these storage rings to you after I finish moving,” Meryer said, tucking away the last of his treasure.
“…Wait, did I hear that right? Is the proud, dragon lord Meryer actually planning to give back the magical items he borrows?”
Salty Cat blinked in disbelief in an obvious dramatic fashion.
Meryer: “…”
“What kind of dragon lord do you take me for?”
“Haha, I was just kidding.”
Salty Cat laughed, then waved her hand.
“Just keep those rings. If storing your treasures in Sandstorm City gets too troublesome, just use them to stash your stuff.”
Meryer was briefly stunned, but then gave a small nod without being polite about it.
“Then I, Lord Meryer won’t hold back.”
With that, Meryer glanced back at the Elven Forest, then at the now-visible silhouette of the black dragon castle in the distance.
“Well then…I’m leaving now. Don’t forget what you promised me.”
Salty Cat smiled and waved.
“Mhm, safe travels.”
Meryer, in turn, gave a human-like flap of his wings and let out a long, echoing roar. Then he soared high into the sky, before heading south.
Gradually, his figure grew smaller and smaller until it fully vanished into the clouds.
It wasn’t until the little black dragon disappeared from sight that Salty Cat’s smile slowly faded.
She lowered her hand and sighed.
“Haah, I’ve spent so much time around that lizard, I can’t believe I almost told him not to leave.”
Evé, while wearing the disguise of ‘Féng’ smiled and asked, “Then why not go with him to Sandstorm City?”
But Salty Cat shook her head again.
“Nah. Like I said, it’s way too far, and right now, I can’t leave easily either since Chosen City is undergoing major expansion.”
Her guild, Moe Moe Committee, was the primary one in charge of planning and overseeing the city’s development.
Especially lately, with 200,000 new players joining, the expansion of Chosen City had become unavoidable. As its guildmaster, Salty Cat inevitably found herself increasingly busy.
She curled her lips and added, “Besides, Sandstorm City’s nowhere near as fun as Chosen City. Its surrounding is a barren wasteland, the air’s bad, the food’s worse…and only that weirdo Meryer could enjoy being in such place.”
Evé in response just smiled faintly and didn’t press further.
It had been two months since the orcs were defeated.
In that time, the players not only took Sandstorm City but also found the surviving royal orc court leaders and crushed the last of their resistance.
Therefore, the entire Desert of Death has now effectively become Elven territory.
Moreover, after losing nearly half their population, most of the surviving orcs chose to surrender, and the remaining few still resisting had retreated to the far southern reaches of the desert, engaging in cat-and-mouse skirmishes with self-organized player squads.
Honestly speaking, given the relentless enthusiasm of the players, it was only a matter of time before those orcs too would be routed and completely captured.
With the conquest of the Desert of Death came the next big question—how to effectively govern and manage such a vast, harsh territory.
However, Evé no longer intended to personally intervene in such matters. Instead, she left them entirely in the hands of Thranduil.
Nonetheless, Sandstorm City remained a key strategic hub that also served as a gateway to the underground and stood directly opposite the domain of Hodür, the Lord of Darkness and Shadows. Therefore, the city required a powerful guardian, and only someone with overwhelming strength could maintain order there.
After some thought, Evé eventually chose Meryer, who had recently advanced to Gold-rank and whose actual combat strength now approached that of a Legendary-rank being.
That was why the young black dragon was relocating to Sandstorm City.
With the Desert of Death and Dark Mountains now fully under her control, Black Dragon Castle had lost its strategic value. Thus, Meryer being stationed there was no longer necessary.
“By the way, Sister Féng, I didn’t see you during the Desert Campaign a while back. Where were you back then?”
Salty Cat’s sudden question interrupted her thoughts.
Eve paused briefly, then replied apologetically,
“Sorry. I was moving solo during that time. You see, I’m not really a fan of large-scale group battles.”
“So you really are a soloist,” Salty Cat muttered.
But she didn’t dwell on it. After all, while most didn’t know, she was well aware of just how powerful this druid known as ‘Féng’ truly was.
The latter was simply too low-key.
Salty Cat suspected that if it ever came down to a serious fight, even Moon Jasmine wouldn’t be her match. Moreover, her own recent surge in magical strength had been thanks to the woman’s guidance.
Of course, accuracy was still… not her strong suit.
Eventually, Salty Cat gave up on trying to aim precisely and instead embraced the “saturation bombardment” strategy.
If she couldn’t hit her target directly, then she would just blow everything up.
Everyone has their own playstyle.
Since Féng didn’t like being in the spotlight, Salty Cat didn’t pry either. She simply enjoyed dragging the woman out to go shopping or sightseeing from time to time.
Just as they were chatting, Evé noticed Salty Cat’s cheerful expression faltering for just a second.
Evé’s heart skipped a beat.
She had a feeling she already knew what it was about, but kept her tone light as she asked,
“What’s wrong?”
“Sigh… got a message from my guild. More trouble in Chosen City again,” the girl muttered, rubbing her temples. “Sigh, every time new players arrive, there’s always some drama. Can’t they appreciate how much work went into building the place? The city’s already packed to the brim—it’s hard enough to manage without the extra chaos…”
She grumbled with growing frustration, evident on her face.
“Well, that’s how it goes when there are too many people in one place. Once they get used to the atmosphere of Elven Kingdom, things will probably settle down.”
Evé smiled.
“Yeah, I guess that’s all we can hope for.”
Salty Cat shook her head, then let out a sigh:
“Back when I was looking forward to the public beta, I dreamed that millions of players flooding into the game would make it more exciting. But now… I have to admit, the devs were right. For a player story-driven game like this, you really can’t open the floodgates all at once, otherwise, all the planning we did beforehand would be compromised…”
“Sister Féng, sorry to cut our outing short but I’m heading back to the guild. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Eve nodded.
“Alright. Take care.”
Salty Cat waved goodbye and stepped into the teleportation array within the World Tree’s temple, vanishing toward Chosen City.
Meanwhile, Evé remained on the canopy, gazing thoughtfully down at the city below…
“The game now has over 300,000 players, and Chosen City is beginning to feel increasingly overcrowded. While expanding it further is still an option, the larger a city grows, the more complex its issues tend to become…”
“The larger it grows, the more resources it demands. But with only a limited number of players and native elves producing essentials like food and such, it’s still difficult to support a fully functioning large-scale city as it is. And maintaining order is another major issue I need to tackle on…”
“Hmm, I guess it’s the right time to implement an official city management system. The current reliance on major guilds to maintain order just isn’t sustainable anymore. Sure, the current setup places some restrictions on players, but it lacks the adaptability needed for proper governance and is far too prone to abuse.”
“Fortunately, Florence and Kenorland are much easier to manage, since their populations consist mostly of native elves and half-elves. There’s rarely any player-related trouble there. I could delegate their administration to the Church of Life or Thranduil and they should be more than capable of overseeing those cities.”
“But Chosen City is different since it’s filled with players, and I really can’t expect a native to keep them in line. Honestly speaking, no one can really control those unruly, loophole-loving lunatics other than the players themselves.”
“And now, the Desert of Death and all of the Elven Forest have been fully opened to the players. A single hub isn’t enough to satisfy their exploration needs anymore, especially in the northern regions of the forest…”
“On top of that, there’s also the matter of new regions to develop and control…”
“Hmm… Looks like it’s time to build new cities to disperse the population and officially introduce the City Lord Management system feature to the players.”
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