Wandering through the inert void, Emma had no idea where she was, much less if the process had worked. The terror of doubt even made her think that the passage had failed and that now she was dead, drifting in black hell.
For the girl, of all the proposals that were given to describe hell, to be swallowed up by the darkness of an infinite abyss without any existence, physical or immaterial, was the most disturbing.
However, her heart was filled with hope when she saw a small spark of light rising in darkness, gradually increasing over time. Soon Emma realized that it was not the spark that was growing, but she was approaching the light, being pulled by it. As she got closer, she realized that it was a light tunnel that looked enormous, and it was impossible to see the end. Whens he crossed the edge of the hole and got in the way, a robotic voice echoed through space.
"Computerized avatar transport will begin in a few seconds. The World selected was: Yharag {Alpha Version}"
"Travel will begin on 1...2...3...4...5 Starting transfer."
And then, at a surprising speed, Emma was thrown into the pass. The more it entered, the more blinding the light became at the end of the tunnel, until it completely dominated the vision of the girl, who suddenly fainted.
⥏☉☉✡☉☉⥑
As she felt the gentle wind blowing through her body, Emma woke up, rising quickly with a slight headache. The sun covered her vision, which forced her to blink a few times so that her eyes could adapt to the light. That scene reminded her of earlier, making her wonder if the whole previous situation was just a dream.
However, noticing that she was lying in a sea of flowers on a plain, she knew she must have been a long way from home. She looked around herself, finding on the horizon a vast mountain range, where the sun rose from the snowy peaks. To the right, a forest with purple-colored trees and to the right, a big, coming from the mountain, of crystalline waters was winding through the landscape, cutting it by a long extension. That place was completely different from what Emma had seen in her whole life.
In their daily lives, humanity reigned sovereign over nature. However, in such a beautiful and wild world, life seemed to flourish from every corner, like a true fairytale world. "It's so... beautiful", she thought, amazed at the glimpse of the environment.
But she knew she hadn't gone to that world to enjoy the view. She quickly got up and stopped to look at herself more. Her clothes from before had disappeared, being replaced by simple white cloth clothes and a pair of shoes. "Beginner clothes, I suppose."
Suddenly, a screen opened in front of her, like a hologram she was used to seeing, only fixed and small in size.
---{Message}---
Welcome to Yharag, traveler! You must be full of questions about what to do now that you've come this far, well, we'll give you a brief tutorial!
The World -> Yharag is a world based on MMO RPG games, where you must fulfill missions, explore new places, discover new techniques and much more to increase your character level! However, to be more practical, numbers will not measure your strength and skill, but rather your experience.
Experience -> There are several ways to gain experience. Your skills and powers will be improved the more you use them, that is: the more you train and practice, the stronger you get. To find out how skilled you've become in a certain area, join hands and say, "Open Status". With this, another screen will appear before you, where your level will be measured and a progress bar for each section. Finally, there are three skill sections. They are Combat, Intellect, and Domestic.
°How to get started -> We recommend you look for the nearest city, preferably a small one, which can be full of NPCs (Non-Player Controlled Characters) in need of help, so you can gain more experience.
That's all for now. As you move forward in your new life, we'll give you more information and tutorials like this. See you next time!
---{X}---
Automatically, the screen closed before the girl's eyes, who was surprised by the level of detail that the project's developers were able to increase in the program. Curious to know her location, she thought about doing what was being suggested in the guide, but instead of saying "Status", she would say "Maps". When she tried, a 3D hologram appeared lying in front of her, but it only contained information about the places she had seen and mentally marked. Her only other alternative was to put her head to think, and that's what she did.
"Well, if the sun rises in the mountains, it can only be east, which means right behind me is west. The violet forest is to the north, while the great river is to the south. The cities, especially the medieval ones, which was the period in which the game was inspired, are usually close to large water sources. And since there are some mountains to the east, the water from this river comes from the thawing snow on top of them, which is proven since the current goes in the opposite direction of the mountains. So the best chance I have of finding a town is to follow the river west!"
With this thought in mind and an elaborate travel plan, Emma turned and looked west, where the vast expanse of grassy plains continued. With determination and confidence in her reasoning, the girl began to walk in search of a city.
As she walked, she could feel the gigantic difference in sensations between the two worlds. While New York had a strong metallic smell, that place perfectly simulated the clean, pure air of nature, something Emma had never felt before. She felt free from the chains of her quiet routine, free as a butterfly. This compilation of sensations and experiences gave her more reason to want to save Yharag from imminent destruction. She didn't want the harmonic peace to have its rhythm interrupted.
In the distances ahead, something stood out among the flowering sea. It was a small village surrounded by wooden fences, made up of a few wooden houses just like each other as if they were copies; a construction from which smoke came out through a chimney; a tent a little closer to the village limits and a large farm. "It's nothing big, but it'll do for now", she thought, increasing the speed of her steps to get there faster.
⥏☉☉✡☉☉⥑
Already very close to the city, the girl felt exhausted from walking so much, but she believed it would improve her movement skills because of the system of practical experience she learned a few minutes ago. When passing through the small wooden gate, she identified the name of the city, which was located on the sign on one of the supports. "Wast."
Looking closer, the village seemed pretty nice, with people doing their jobs and children playing in the narrow streets, the kind of place you could find in many movies in the middle ages. After recovering the rhythm of her breathing, she walked back to the interior of the village
While walking, some people stared at her with curiosity and surprise, as if they had never received a visit, however, she did not bother much about it.
Because she was focused on other things, she barely noticed when she arrived in the center of the village, only noticing when she hit a stone pier from the front, taking a few steps back due to the surprise. Fortunately, she wasn't hurt much due to the speed she was walking, but it still hurt a lot. "I haven't felt this stupid since I bumped into a glass door..."
Looking better at what she had collided, the pilaster was part of a circular set of eight others, each engraved with a strange symbol she had never seen before. In the center of this stone circle, there was a kind of altar, where a transparent crystal lay, which was kept rotating in the air by forces that the young woman was still unaware of.
She approached the floating crystal with fear, examining it with her gaze. In the small support under the stone, there was a sentence: "To acquire your occupation, you must fulfill two missions, one combat, and the other general, to have your performance evaluated and compared to the best style of play for you."
"Occupation? I think it must have something to do with employment, something like that. Sounds important. As for the missions, it shouldn't be hard to find one here in the village."
Suddenly, a new hologram message appeared in front of him.
---{Tutorial}---
°Missions -> Generally these are problems or tasks to be solved and can have many different forms of solution. To find and accept a mission, look for someone with one of the two mission indicator symbols above your head: Sword, for combat missions or a Book for missions involving sentimental, personal, moral and ethical issues. (Note: As the mission progresses, she may end up switching rankings).
---{X}---
"Well, I was gonna end up noticing someone with a sword or a book in their head anyway..."
Looking around, there was no one with the mission indicator, so Emma decided to focus on someplace where people usually need help. Her attention soon turned to a different place, which stood out among the rest of the village for its size: the farm.
As soon as she laid eyes on the place, she imagined that most of the citizens' income and food would come from there. So she figured the place should need help with at least something.
Walking a little further, she arrived at the entrance gate, which was closed. Before she could get very close, she was prevented from continuing by a man, who suddenly appeared. His brown hair fell to shoulder height and his eyes of the same color looked at the girl in an attempt at intimidation. However, his hands trembled and his posture was unstable, clearly indicating that he was tense. "Is an armed security guard afraid of an unarmed person? That's news to me."
- M- Miss, I cannot allow outsiders to pass, I ask you politely to leave. - he asked, in a trembling voice. In his mind, everything would work out if he was polite.
- What´s the problem? I may not be from here, but that doesn't mean I'm a bad person! I just want to talk to your boss. - Emma replied, expecting a discussion.
- I'm sorry, but I really can't let you through. I-I have a job to do! - Although visibly frightened, he was still trying to stand up and do his duty.
- Tell me your name.
- My... name?
- Yes! Tell me your name, come on! - he demanded it out loud, scaring the boy even more.
- Alay! My name is Alay! - he shouted, finally standing up and steady. Looking at it this way, he was just a little bigger than Emma.
- Right, Alay - the young woman crossed her arms and looked deep into the boy's eyes, giving him a calm look - you're right, I'm not from here. However, I'm not here to cause any trouble for you or your bosses. I'm just a girl who's willing to do a few missions.
- Well, my bosses are indeed in need of help... they even complained to me these days, saying that soon I'd start working nights because of it. - complained, letting his weakly established posture fall again.
"Bingo! Now, if I offer help, I'm sure that guy won't refuse! Total victory."
- I can help if you want. No matter what kind of mission, I'll do it! - finished, using her final card in the convincing game.
- O-Ok! If you've come to help, then I can try to make an exception for you.
Feeling victorious, Emma smiled and raised her fist as a sign of victory. Soon after that, Alay gestured for her to follow her inland.
The place was even bigger inside, with plantations of the most varied types of plants, some that she knew, but others don´t A little further from the main gate was the large house of the owners, right next to the barn that looked very old.
On the veranda of the house, an adult man, together with a woman and three children, looked at the girl with a certain curiosity and distrust, which she was already expecting. The man approached them, stopping in front of them. His hair was very much the same color as Alay's, but it was shallower with a not too big beard. It was sturdy and very tall, typical of someone who works in the field every day. "He seems pretty mad about the fact that I'm here..."
- Alay! What did I say about not allowing strangers in here?!
- I'm sorry, Dad, it's just...
- No justification! - Shouted, soon making the boy shut up. Then directed his gaze at Emma - What about you? What the hell makes you think you could come on my farm like that?!
Unlike Alay, who was beside him, subdued and defeated, the girl was not going to let herself be beaten by that man.
- Listen here, sir. I came here with the sole and exclusive purpose of helping you with whatever problem you have with this place, which seems to have nothing wrong with it. Alay brought me here because I said I could help, so it's my fault, only mine. All he wanted to do was help you, so you can stop this senseless anger.
The man would have another outburst of anger but was stopped by himself when he realized that his wife and children were watching.
- Ah... well. - he said, surrendering - Sorry, Alay, I wouldn't want you to have that example from your father. - He approached and hugged his son, releasing him a few seconds later.
- It's okay, I don't care...
- Back to the point, miss...?
- Emma, Emma Adams.
- Miss Emma Adams, you said you came here to help us with a problem, but I don't suppose you even know what it is, right? - he asked, surprising Emma by looking so different from the man who had just had an outbreak of anger.
- Alay told me you guys needed help with something. Could you tell me what it is?
- Of course. Follow me, please.
Alay and Emma followed the man to a not too big place, having a space for bird breeding. The place had the typically bad smell of a place where animals are raised, besides having several grains and hay scattered on the ground. At first, nothing seemed to be different from normal, however, Emma felt that something was wrong.
Once again, time seemed to slow down in the face of his perception. With her eyes, she probed the entire site, checking detail by detail as she approached them to check. Then she saw something anomalous in the enclosure, something that didn't attract much attention, but could mean something. She had the clue, it was enough to be the key to that.
- Lately, I have noticed that there are fewer and fewer birds in there, but it's not every day that they add up. I'm afraid it might be some kind of thief. - he said, curious to see the girl scouring the surrounding area.
- Before I assume I'm right, I have to ask a few questions. - With one gesture, the man agreed, giving her permission to proceed. - How often do you put a straw in the fences?
- When it's very dirty, which doesn't take that long to happen, I usually change every week.
- Do you make their nests yourself or do you allow them to?
- I let them do it, they know how to do it better than anyone here.
- What's the temperature of this world at night?
- It's usually cold, but it can vary.
With all her doubts cleared up, Emma was virtually certain that her assumption was correct. So she smiled at them both and lifted her index finger, pointing up.
- Now I want you to listen to me, I don't want any interruptions - When I said that, father and son looked at each other and agreed, throwing concentrated glances at the girl who started - As you said, we know that what is doing this acts at night, fast and silent. And it is at this same time that the chickens snuggle in their nests to sleep, taking possession of any pile of straw and making a nest there if necessary. That's where that pile of straw comes in! - she said, pointing to a shapeless and disordered cluster of straw in the furthest part of the hen house. - A chicken does not destroy its nest either when it is using or when it has finished using, it makes no sense to have a whole strange nest there.
- So you're saying that... - Alay would talk, but Emma completed.
- Yes, whatever is doing this, is leaving a lure for the chickens to see, go to the place, set up the nest at night and be taken by it, doing the same in one day, but not in the other, to they don´t get afraid
- He adapted them and created a strategy so that not even his victims would notice his presence... - the boy spoke, intrigued by the planning of it.
- B-But how would he do that? Just being on the inside to do something like that! And the door is intact!
- Not really. He doesn't have to be completely in there. A simple entrance for him is enough for him to set up the nest outside, wait and attack without anyone noticing. We're dealing with something that doesn't act from the inside but the outside!
Walking to the building, Emma found what she hoped to find, unlike Alay and her father, who was even more intrigued by the whole thing. Crossing the wooden fence was a hole covered with straw, with wood chips in the ground and the most notorious: a trail of footprints that was accompanied by a transparent and viscous liquid.
Emma called them with a gesture to follow the trail left by the kidnapper of the chickens, who followed her without hesitation. Soon, the way ended in a set of bushes, from which came a strong smell of rottenness. Coming closer, Emma moved away quickly because of the smell, causing doubts for the two men, who were a little further behind.
- So? What you got there?
- One thing I'm sure of, it's not your thief, but his dinner. - she said, referring to the pair of chicken corpses that were partially eaten already in the decomposition stage. Some footprints reminded Emma of the footprints of a lizard, only to an even greater extent. He was a predator, and Emma would have had to kill him if she wanted to do the job.
"Shit... if it was the size of a cat it would be fine, but looking at these bite marks and footprints, this thing must be at least the size of a Doberman!"
With no clue as to what she was facing, Emma found herself trapped by the fear and tension of having to face something possibly dangerous. However, she could no longer back down at that point. Smiling with tension and trembling, she let out a low laugh and looked at the new trail of footprints leading into the forest beyond the village enclosure.