It took Cao Hanjou quite the 'persuasive' method to disclose the information regarding the Earthen Dungeon to Wang Jun. Firstly, This was no place where a low-level person could afford to have a touristy visit, let alone explore the dungeon without solid preparations beforehand. Secondly, the Heavenly Demon Sect was not a typical 'friendly' faction where people could come and go in their domain. Sentenced to death was considered a merciful way for anyone who dared trespass on their territory.
Knowing the danger that lurk beneath, the dungeon was under the watchful eyes of the Arch Demon, Long Tian, patriarch of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
Through hundreds of thousands of years under his leadership, the Heavenly Demon Sect had gone through numerous tribulations, wars against other sects, and many other factions that promoted righteous cultivation paths. Alas, they retreated and secluded themselves at the Golden Gaze Mountain as their base to maintain the status quo of their very existence in this world.
Even though Heavenly Demon Sect had long due of its prime, Long Tian was still a force to be reckoned with and not someone to be trifled with.
For Wang Jun, however, none of those matters to him in the slightest. Though it might sound noble in the ears of many, Wang Jun already could tell, Heavenly Demon Sect was there for the sake of monopolizing resources that unearthed from the dungeon.
Despite all that, he was curious about this Long Tian, what kind of opportunity the Virtual Insanity has to offer him if he able to have an audience with someone of that caliber?
"Heavenly Peak Region, huh?"
Upon checking the whereabouts of this mountain in the world map, Wang Jun found the whole region was still covered with fog, rendering his [Abyss Walk] useless since he was only able to teleport to a place that he had visited before and the map had to be visible.
The only way to open the visibility of the world map was to travel there by himself, or… buying the available map from the [Store].
"Knowing is owning" or so the saying goes, the price for a fully opened world map was ridiculously expensive. Funding the expedition to go there would be much cheaper in comparison, however, it would take him weeks to reach there if not months due to the sheer size of this world.
Wang Jun couldn't help but accept that he was broke as heck. He sighed, "Seems like I had to take one step at a time. Doesn't matter, I will get there, eventually."
Cao Hanjou's shoulders relaxed after he heard it from Wang Jun. He's glad that Wang Jun was wise enough to hold himself from doing any recklessness. He clapped his hands to give Wang Jun a sign that he had to be elsewhere for business. "That being said, I need to deliver the Eldritch Woods to the blacksmith in the village. If you'll excuse me, sir."
Wang Jun smelled some good opportunity after Cao Hanjou mentioned the blacksmith. 'Delivering Eldritch Woods to a blacksmith… For crafting materials, perhaps?' Wang Jun caught the carpenter by his collar like someone picking up a cat.
"Hold it right there, big fella! You are not forgetting someone, right?"
"Err…" The carpenter smiled wryly. "Of course not, Brother Wang! If you fancy meeting the Blacksmith, I'll take you there and introduce you to him!"
"After you, Brother Cao!" Wang Jun let go of Cao's collar, with a pang of agitation written on his face.
Cao Hanjou was lucky that Wang Jun didn't kill him right off the bat due to blatantly using Wang Jun's benevolence for granted by not telling him about the side business with the Blacksmith.
Before long, the two had arrived at Starto Village, one of many copies in every server worldwide so the players in each server would have the same experience.
'Since the Virtual Insanity adapted linear timeline where NPCs could grow old, produce offspring, and so on, were the NPCs in other servers the same as this one or entirely different person?' Wang Jun's thoughts suddenly wandered off upon looking at the NPCs who walked passed him.
'Well… maybe I could ask Bai Ning later after I logged out."
***
This tranquil Starto Village was situated next to the Hangshui River. Not so far from the village hall to the west, there's Huelan Great Forest which was rich in natural resources such as woods, wild herbs, big game animals, neutral monsters, and many minerals inside the cave system for those who dared venture to the underworld.
You could see various establishments on the side of the main road upon passing the village's main gate from the east.
There was [Leather Tanner] to process many valuable animal and monster hide.
[Armorsmith] was erected beside it to craft freshly tanned leather for various armor types.
Next to it was the [Trading Post] where players could sell and buy various items from Healing potions to Cultivation Pills, put shortly, if there are demands, there'll be the stock for the demanded goods.
Although the stocks weren't always available unlike the in-game [Shop] which could be accessed anywhere and anytime, this [Trading Post] was very useful for players to trade with the NPCs and other players whereas the prices were fairly cheaper and affordable for newbies who want to play for free before they decided to buy the items, weapons, and what not with real money.
Not so far away from the [Trading Post], the [Tavern] stood out amidst the village with its three-story structure. The first floor was for the bar and restaurant and also served as the hub for many players to do their business. There were also big Quest Boards that were placed on this first floor so anybody could issue a Quest per the Tavern Master's approval.
The second floor of the tavern was designated for dining while the third floor was for player's lodging accommodations. Thanks to the Built-in Multilayered-Dimension which provides almost endless rooms, players shouldn't be worried about lacking vacant rooms. All they needed to do was to enter the elevator on the third floor, press the number of their room, and… Voila! They shall arrive in front of the door of their respective room in a jiffy.
Aside from those establishments, there were also many shops that sold various products such as local foods, beverages, and so on.
Lastly, the [Blacksmith], the busiest establishment in the village after the [Tavern].
All in all, this village was a haven for Newbie Players to get started and used to the game's basic mechanics.