Yuan stared dumbstruck at the bowing Lolita in front of him with rounded eyes, as it took him a while to regain his composure.
"A… Ahem, ahem. Grazier, is it? It's a pleasure to meet such a pretty lady like yourself."
"Ooh~ Already spewing out flattery I see. What a natural charmer you are~ Thank you very much for the compliment! Haven't heard someone call me pretty in such a long time."
"I-Is that so? I find that hard to believe."
"Well, you see, when you live all alone in a big forest such as Evermond it tends to be like that."
"…I guess you're right."
Yuan pretended to look around him once more, not wanting to make eye contact, as he was still feeling kind of ajar and out of it. All the while, the little witch Grazier was grinning at him playfully with amused crescent eyes.
"Anyhow," she continued. "Why don't you come inside my humble abode?"
"Huh...? Your home? Where is it? I don't see it anywhere."
Yuan was sure that he'd already scanned everything in his surroundings, yet he didn't spot a single house or anything of the sort.
"Is it perhaps a ways away from here?" he asked.
"Oh no, it's just right behind me."
"Behind you…?"
He shifted his eyes away from her and gazed beyond, but he didn't see anything there other than more thickets and foliage.
"Hmm? How come I don't see anyth—"
Before he could finish his sentence, his line of sight suddenly caught distortions in space akin to an undulating rainbow bubble. Then, like a mirage or illusion being dispelled, a tall and majestic treehouse revealed itself in full view.
"Let us go inside, shall we?" Grazier invited.
"Ah, yeah… Thanks for having me."
Grazier didn't put any mind to his dumbfounded reaction and simply sauntered her way to the large treehouse.
"I really gotta stop acting so stupidly surprised by these things; I need to remember that I'm playing a fantasy game right now…"
Yuan muttered to himself before hurriedly following alongside her.
After climbing up a long stairway, both of them now stood on the lovely porch of the treehouse. Over here, Yuan could clearly see the impressive flora spread out before him. In the distance, he could even see a herd of animals peacefully feeding on the lush vegetation and abundant fruits around them.
"You've got a nice view from up here," Yuan commented.
"Hmm? You think so?" Grazier said as she looked towards the picturesque sight. "I don't see anything particularly special about it though."
"Well, since you live here you've definitely seen it every day. But, from where I come from, this place looks like a paradise; something similar to the Garden of Eden."
"Garden of Eden? I honestly don't know what you're talking about."
Grazier replied nonchalantly before turning around to face the wooden door leading inside the treehouse. She then opened it and gestured for Yuan to come in, saying,
"Please, enter."
Yuan looked at her, nodded his head, and then finally entered her home. Once inside, he reflexively let his gaze wander all over the house's interior. There was a fireplace and a leather chair near it, a beast's hide lying on the floor, a classy chandelier on the ceiling, and layers of bookshelves all lined up on the four corners of the room.
"You like it, right? You can go ahead and make yourself comfortable."
"Thanks. You've got quite a comfy space here; I'm jealous."
"Well, I'm the one who designed it, after all."
Grazier smiled as she went to take a seat on the leather chair. Meanwhile, Yuan moved to stand beside her and then stared at the fireplace, admiring the dancing flames that seemed so lively.
"So, why don't we get straight to business then?"
Grazier suddenly clapped her hands and spoke. Yuan promptly turned his attention to her as he listened to her talk.
"First of all, why don't you tell me your name?"
Following her words, a holographic screen and keyboard unexpectedly materialized out of thin air in front of Yuan. On the blue screen, it said to 'Type Your Username'.
'Yep. I really am inside a video game.' He thought.
Because of the absurd realism of this VR game he was playing, especially with his first-ever NPC interaction that he had with the witch Grazier which felt so real—he was almost convinced of the world around him actually being real life.
Yuan even unconsciously thought at one point that he was literally transported to another world like those Isekai light novels and that he just wasn't aware of it. But thanks to the holographic screen floating before him, it woke him up from the illusive immersion that the game cast on him.
'Oh, man… The game's scary realism aside, what should I name my character?'
He put his fingers on his lips as he tried hard to come up with a good name. Now some people might think that naming your character in a video game isn't really that important, since it doesn't impact your gaming experience in any way. But to Yuan, the importance of having a great name for your character is the same as having good stats or equipment in the game. Because, throughout your entire time playing the game, you will be referred to by the name you gave your character; and that to him, is more important than the level of his game character itself.
'Dammit…! I have so many good names for my character that I don't know which to choose.'
Yuan scratched his head in frustration while pacing around the room restlessly, unable to calm down. Eventually, he finally stopped and took a deep breath before exhaling a large gust of air.
"Okay. I've got it!"
Staring at the holographic keyboard, he began to type each letter of the name meticulously with extreme care; and when he was done, his index finger hovered above the enter key then heavily descended down to press it at last. It took him a full two minutes to type a five-letter name, and it was all worth it.
"I see. So, your name is Solis. Did I pronounce that correctly?"
"Yep, my name is Solis. Nice to meet ya." Yuan—no—Solis grinned at her while baring his teeth.