***
Rouya settled into a steady rhythm in End Village, spending day after day, week after week, doing household chores, helping out on the farm, and reading everything she could get her hands on in the village library.
The locals loved having her around and often let her join in on their fun—and their stranger hobbies. Take the auntie next door, for instance; she was obsessed with dressing up. One moment she'd be a graceful, elegant lady, the next a sharp-tongued neighbor, and more often than not, she'd be playing a beggar asking for food.
Everyone played along, handing her fresh or leftover bits of food, and she stayed totally in character too—she'd just eat it right there in front of everyone without the slightest bit of embarrassment.
However, the most anticipated things that Rouya never expected that is this weird auntie was in fact, Village Chief Serrum's wife. If not for the fact that Siere admonished her and called her grandmother some other time, Rouya wouldn't be able to connect at all.
"Grandmother who love traveling around the continent find it boring when she returned to the village and wanted to stay outside... but grandfather no longer permit her to travel outside, afraid that she might not come back anymore. Because of it, grandmother had this antic to force grandfather into giving her permission but grandfather remain steadfast with her decision."
"Oh… turns out they're actually husband and wife. That explains why Grandpa Serrum was always around whenever the auntie next door was up to her usual antics." Rouya shifted her eyes toward Siere, her expression filled with sympathy. "They must be such a handful to deal with."
"That's right. They can really be a handful most of the time." Siere chuckles. "By the way, the Spring Harvest is coming up soon. Grandfather asked me to invite you to take part in it."
"The Spring Harvest? Are you harvesting that field of golden rice?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Wow! That's such a large piece of land. You must get enough rice to last you for several years! Do you plan to sell it in bulk?"
"Not really. All of it is for our own use. Actually, you're quite lucky to have arrived in End Village during its busiest and most important time. The Spring Harvest only takes place once every four years, because each season here lasts a full year."
"So you're saying... spring, summer, autumn, and winter each last one year? That's a really long cycle for the seasons to change.
"Are you coming along?"
"Definitely."
Rouya went to the rice fields with Siere. They weren't the only ones there, many other villagers had already arrived. Even the auntie next door, was there and looked very solemn. If Rouya hadn't known better, she would never have thought this was the same woman who always did such odd things.
"Siere, Rouya, you're here!" Chief Serrum found them and happily walk over to them.
"Grandpa, how is it? Is everyone finally here?"
"Yes, we were just waiting for the right time."
Right time? Right time to harvest? But aren't harvesting supposed to be earlier so that when the sun was set, everyone can finally have some rest? She wondered.
Her question was answered when dusk fell. Instead of being swallowed by darkness, the rice fields sparkled with golden light. Each grain glowed with warm, golden hues that shimmered against the darkening sky.
"Wow! What an incredible sight!" Blues exclaimed.
"I know, right? It makes me realize that even though this game world has no magic for players, it's still a fantasy with its own unique beauty." Rouya sighed.
"Actually, only players can't use magic. Us pixie guides can—otherwise, what skills would we have to offer?" Blues explained. It then struck her how chaotic the game system was.
The game feature can be simplified by granting players magic power directly, rather than using a separate pixie guide as their partner. Though, this creates some inconvenience and introduces a degree of chaos, it ultimately makes the game uniquely distinct from other virtual games.
"The game's creator must be incredibly unpredictable. Has there still been no update for the main quest?" Rouya asked carefully. She knew she had to keep track of the main quest—clearing the game was the only way to log out.
"No updates yet for the main quest. But there have been updates to the side quests."
"A side quest? What is it about?"
"It's the requirements to unlock the access to the main quest is for players."
"A requirements? Are there multiple side quests?"
"Three in total. The first is reaching level 100. The second is obtaining a title card, though the method hasn't been specified. The third is locating Lost Harbor—I have no idea what that is, as the main system hasn't provided any details about it."
"Reaching level 100 will already take so much time as it is, and then there are the other two side quests—one has no specific details at all, and the other is completely unknown! Does the game want to trap us here forever?" Rouya felt like she was losing her mind.
"I knew you'd react like this, which is why I was hesitant to tell you when the update first came out." Blues couldn't help but feel sympathetic toward her master. Those three side quests were truly out of ordinary. What made it even more unbearable was that all three were just requirements for the main quest. Even she felt hopeless just by seeing it.
Rouya felt a wave of hopelessness wash over her. An important international mathematics competition was underway, and she was eager to take part—yet she'd never imagined she'd end up trapped inside a game.
The competition had five stages spanning an entire year. She had qualified for the final round, which was supposed to take place in three months' time. After acing the quarterfinals, she had felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders and decided to reward herself by playing WLO, a newly launched virtual game, not knowing the subsequent event will happened.
Before she knew it, she'd been stuck inside for over two months. Rouya felt like she might collapse; if not for Blues' encouraging words, she would have truly given in to despair.
"Master, please don't lose all hope. You're not alone in here—many skilled virtual gamers are trapped just like you."
"But aren't the game's quests tailored for each player to complete individually?"
"Not at all. The main quest just requires a certain number of players to clear it and finish the game. To be more specific, not every players are required to complete it," Blues stated firmly. "There are at least tens of thousands of players trapped here. There must be some extraordinary players out there who will be able to complete the main quest."
Yet Blues' words only made Rouya's heart sink further. If the game only needed a specific number of players to complete the main quest, didn't that mean the task ahead was even more daunting—and potentially hopeless?
***