Was this a system bug? SV had a dreadful thought before forcefully suppressing it. There was no way supercomputers would make a mistake; he firmly believed so.
So it must be whatever the BOSS did at the end, a strange feature of the instance.
Honestly, SV was filled with regret now. He should've checked his logs to make sure the bastard was dead. But wasn't the mission requirement to kill the BOSS or did he misread something?
"Fuck," he shouted, his heart starting to feel at ease a bit more.
Whatever this instance was, it seemed he was stuck here for now.
Would dying once let him escape? SV contemplated the thought before shaking his head. He had a feeling that this might be his only attempt at this special instance. After all, the system was gone, so who was to say that the death screen wouldn't be gone too?
No matter.
He got up and dusted himself off before making his way to the gate. Thankfully, he didn't have to build a platform this time as the gates were open.
As he crossed the graveyard's threshold, he didn't feel himself crossing a barrier this time, nor did he feel his body getting stronger. If it were like before, the quest to escape the graveyard would've allowed him to level up. Either the quests changed, or he was now unable to receive them. SV felt that it was probably the latter.
He looked at the barren land outside and could finally see what lay at the side of the road. Well, there was nothing as far as his eyes could see, only barren land.
SV frowned and wondered whether there was an end to it. Would he reach a barrier if he followed this path? The edge of this instance?
He shook his head and kept on the path leading to the town. For now, he needed to ascertain the situation.
Following the path, he crossed the barren lands into the paddy field and was surprised to see people working here.
Men and women were covered in mud; some were driving oxen to plow the land, some were flooding the fields, and some were inspecting seedlings on a small puddled field.
As he stopped to stare at them working for a moment, he noticed that some of them stopped working and gave him apprehensive looks.
SV blinked and looked behind him; there was no one there. Were they staring at him? They could see him?
Just then, an older man patted his ox and approached him.
"Lad, you're a new face here. Did you need anything?" The old man said not unkindly.
SV was nonplussed for a moment. It was fine if they could see him, but how come he could understand what this old man was saying? Before he could formulate a response, the old man continued, a hint of rebuke in his voice.
"Listen lad, they're simple folk here. And your looks—I mean no offense, but your looks are starting to scare them. So did you need anything or not?"
SV smiled, which gave the old man the illusion that he was going to start a fight. The old man slightly backed away, the people behind him squaring up, but SV quickly raised his hands, "woah, woah, old man, I'm just passing by. You don't have to be so on guard."
The old man relaxed a bit—making SV confirm that normal communication was possible—and looked him up and down, "passing by? You're going to the town?"
SV nodded, "naturally."
The old man nodded, "do you have a specific reason?"
'What's with the interrogation...' SV smiled, "I heard Tipeb Town is about to hold a festival. Is that true?"
The old man was surprised for a moment, "where did you hear that from?"
SV asked uncertainly, "it's not true?"
The old man shook his head and signaled the others to go back to work, which they did but kept taking glances at them from the corner of their eyes.
"no, it's true. I was just surprised that an outsider knows about it. The Summer Wish Festival will be held in a week. You're welcome to join us."
'A week huh,' the timeline had shifted greatly. SV then probed, "is it the same one where the town drinks from the fountain?"
The old man was really surprised now, "you're quite knowledgeable, lad."
SV shook his head, "old man, can you tell me what the festival is about?"
The old man chuckled, "you know about the process but don't know what's it for?"
SV smiled and remained noncommittal.
The old man shook his head and pointed at the fields behind him, "can you guess the reason now?"
Ah!
"Wish for blessings," SV muttered.
The old man laughed, "what else? Every start of the summer, we gather and make a wish for a bumper harvest. It's that simple, are you disappointed lad?"
SV shook his head, "on the contrary, I'm very much looking forward to it."
The old man smiled, "Alright, if you have nothing else, you be on your way."
SV forced a smile and shook his head. He wasn't welcome here. He then cupped his hands, which stunned both him and the old man.
Habit—he swore it was an accident, having only conversed with Yun Jierou recently.
The old man stared at his gesture, "are you with that charlatan?"
Eh, he seemed to have discovered another secret. "May I ask who you're referring to?"
The old man thought for a moment before saying, "a woman, a veiled woman, wearing layers of clothes." He seemed to have gathered his thoughts, and his words became much more coherent. "It baffles me how she's not sweltering beneath all that."
He paused for a moment and added, "she came here two days ago with four people. She's now setting up a stall from morning to evening conning people!"
The old man seemed dissatisfied with her and spoke in great detail, "you're not with her, are you?"
SV smiled, "she owes me a favor... two actually."
The old man spat on the ground, having immediately misunderstood, "I knew she was no good, but the folk just won't listen."
A woman suddenly interjected, "Old Jack, don't say that about her. She's never made a mistake in her readings."
Several others echoed the woman's sentiments.
"What do you young'uns know? I know a weasel when I see one. She speaks so evasively every time. Of course she won't make mistakes. And look!"
He pointed at several young men, "they're all lovestruck! Like horny dogs. Each time I pass the square I see a few wagging their tails at her."
The young men immediately averted their eyes.
"Damned wench, I swear they're all fooled by her, but no one's listening. She shouldn't be allowed on the streets."
"Old Jack, you shouldn't smear a lady like that."
"What lady?"
...
The farce was on full display.
SV listened to the old man rant until he was out of breath and panting slightly. So much hatred. Did Yun Jierou kill his wife or something?
He simply stopped the old man from continuing and said, "alright Old Jack, I better get going. See you around."
Old Jack stared at his back as he disappeared before looking at the group, "what are you looking at? Go back to your work! These fields won't plow themselves!" The people chuckled and returned to their work.
Old Jack himself headed back to his ox as he muttered, "he didn't even leave his name behind."
—
'The square, huh,' SV thought, having picked it up from Old Jack's rambling. He knew one square in the town, and it should naturally be the one where Yun Jierou was sitting at.
He could immediately identify what her plan was for setting up a stall and giving people readings.
Intelligence gathering.
But what kind of information she was looking for, he didn't know.
Looking at the sun and the living people, SV pondered as he continued on his journey.
If the previous instance was post the wish that turned the town to a fragment, then now it was prior to that wish.
But what did this have to do with the BOSS's new wish?
'I wish to remain eternal.'
What did the BOSS's wish have to do with them? Why were they stuck here? Why the past? Shouldn't the wish just grant the BOSS immortality?
Actually, what did the BOSS wish for the first time?
It made no sense why he would wish for the town to become a fragment.
And what was Yun Jierou doing here? She's clearly outmatched, and looking at her, she obviously had some background; wouldn't it be easier to call for help?
She didn't look like a stubborn fool. So that meant that she couldn't call for help. But why did she have to come at all? Like, couldn't she just not enter this place to begin with?
He didn't think she spawned here like he did.
SV felt his repository of questions growing in size.
No matter, Yun Jieoru should have some answers, but it remained to be seen whether she'd answer him.
As he was lost in thought, he finally reached the gates. The town gates were open too, people coming in and out with no guards in place.
SV felt it odd. Were they not afraid of attacks? Or was this a normal scene?
He shook his head and entered inside. His height and appearance earned him a few curious glances, but no one approached him, saving him the trouble.
Being somewhat familiar with the town now, he made his way towards the square.
The square looked bare, obviously yet to be ready for the festival. Looking around, SV immediately spotted Yun Jierou in her usual attire sitting near the fountain, having a mat placed in front of her, and another person sitting at the other end of the mat.
There was quite the line standing in front of her, obviously waiting for their turns.
She hadn't noticed him yet. SV teetered between approaching her now or waiting for her to notice him.
In the end, SV just approached her, earning her attention. He ignored the indignant line and said, "shall we have a chat?"
"Are you familiar with This Yun?" She said as she observed him.
"What do you mean?" SV said confused. What act was she up to now?
"You seem to be familiar with This Yun, but she had only met you just now."
"You don't recognize me?"
Was she also from the town and cursed? It shouldn't be right? Then why were she and her group different from the rest? Well, it actually might be possible. No wait, then why were the town gates broken? If they were inside on the eve of the festival, they wouldn't need to break it, or is it that it wasn't her group that broke it?
Yun Jierou shook her head, "please leave, This Yun is busy right now." She then ignored him.
It didn't seem like she was putting on an act; of course, it wasn't out of the question that she was. He probed her, "your name is Yun Jierou, right?"
She immediately turned back to him, and her gaze narrowed, "do you know This Yun?"
SV smiled and lowered his head to whisper, which she avoided slightly, "not only that, but I also know your purpose here."
"Who are you?" She spoke slowly.
"Why don't you try a reading on me?" SV said.
"Hey, there's a line here," the man sitting opposite Yun Jierou said, having his toes stepped on when he saw SV trying to cut in line.
Yun Jierou stared at SV for a moment before saying, "please wait in line."
SV opened his mouth for a moment before sighing and going to line up.