Sethryn had arrived at an enchanting land and having lost its original name, the land was now called the Cage of Jogund.
A name that was as ominous as it sounds.
The Cage of Jogund once had a beautiful name, bestowed upon it because of the precious green stones that could be found in this magical land.
Emeraldia was that name, but that name over time was lost to the wind.
A land where magic flourished and magical creatures of all sorts dwelled, the skies had giant winged creatures dancing on it.
It was a beautiful view but even that beauty was now lost.
Emeraldia's green was turned to black and red when the goblins arrived.
Emeraldia's beauty faded into the void when the Goblin King set foot on the land.
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A young elven maiden ran through the forest, twigs and tendrils cracking underneath her hasty steps. Her heart pounded loudly, almost shooting out of her chest as she raced to escape the pursuing crew behind her.
Her skin was pale and heavily bruised with many red patches on her body. Her gown was white, or at least used to be, having been roughened up, torn and dirtied.
Her name was Lysar.
Lysar was a fine young elf. Slender and tall for the age that her face gave away. Her eyes were enchanting, green as emerald.
Lysar was beautiful but her beauty was masked by the sadness that beamed from her face.
She kept turning back to gauge the distance between her and her pursuers.
She was not seeing them but she still heard their growling moans as they echoed in the forest and she could feel their ominous presence just close by.
Lysar was stricken with fear, afraid of what they would do to her.
"Freya," she muttered, her eyes watering with tears.
She faced her front and continued to run, brushing past bushes and swerving past trees.
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She was young and agile but was not running at her best. Overwhelmed by exhaustion, she could only run so far before making stops to catch her breath.
Using her territorial advantage, Lysar steered through the twisting trails of the Forest of Jogund. She knew the terrains of the Cage of Jogund too well and moved as such.
She could hear shouts of delight and excitement encroaching towards her even with how fast she was running but their grotesque figures were still unseen.
Her breathing was strained and her heart pounded even faster now that she could sense that the band of goblins that pursued her were drawing nearer.
She cannot continue running like this. At the rate she was going, it was only a matter of time before they catch up.
Lysar needed to find a place to hide from them or better still, lose them entirely.
She came upon a river just ahead. It was as if the heavens smiled on her and provided her with an answer. A smile appeared on her face and she veered towards the river.
Splash!
Without thinking about it, she dived into the cold water and swam her way across, tussling with its current. Lysar managed to win and reach the other side of the river as she pulled herself back to land.
Her scent was masked and her footprints ended at the bank of the river.
"That will delay them for a while," she said, wringing her wet hair.
She was certain that the fear of the cold water would keep them at bay until they could figure a way out but she waited a while to see if they would reach but they were still farther behind than she assumed.
She glanced to the sky and sighed. She was thankful to the heavens for their grace. Lysar continued onwards through the chain of tall trees in front of her.
As she ran for her dear life, she glanced back to see the goblins halting, unable to traverse the river as effortlessly.
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Lysar stumbled upon a gigantic tree that stood out among the rest. It was thick and massive with hollow roots enough to take three elves her size easily.
She felt so relieved and immediately moved into the space to hide herself. Lysar tried to stay as quiet and motionless as possible to avoid drawing attention to her new hideout while also listening for the presence of her pursuers.
The forest was a graveyard.
Minutes turned to hours and some more hours came after that yet she heard nothing. She knew better than to step out to go and check, it may be a trap and so she decided to wait it out a while longer.
The light of day was dimming and the weather was getting cooler as it approached evening. Darkness was coming.
Although Lysar hated the dark, she had to embrace it in her current situation as it would become her most trusted ally. The darkness would shroud her like a cloak and mask her presence better.
She finally decided to step out of hiding after a longer wait and still, there were no signs of the goblins.
The first sound she heard made her heart drop into her belly in fear as she fell back into the hollow roots. Her senses returned and she carefully peeked first, searching for the source of the rustling leaves that she heard.
It was two rabbits that had moved past. She heaved a sigh of relief and laid back down as she tried to control her breathing.
"Looks like I've lost them for good this time."
With the forest still dead silent, she ventured out of her hiding place and wandered further into the forest.
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Sethryn had been wandering through the forest without any end in sight.
He looked up, noticing that it was not as hot as earlier.
"The sun is setting. What the hell am I supposed to do on this floor?"
Sethryn sighed.
"I haven't even seen the Keeper."
The 2nd Floor did not appear as closeted as the first one. It was a vast realm with different locations and a player's starting point depended on which lighthouse they took to enter the floor.
Sethryn walked for about another hour and stopped, with his hands to his waist.
"I've been wandering about aimlessly. Is this what the Right of Roaming does?"
Sethryn took a peek at his profile, only realising that he did not activate the Right of Roaming in the first place.
He lamented and tapped the screen to turn it on.
<< Skill 'Right Of Roaming' Has Been Turned On >>
[ Countdown: 60 Seconds ]
[ Roam ]
"Huh? Why is it counting down?" Sethryn uttered in confusion.
"Roam?"
The Right of Roaming suddenly took effect.
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Sethryn shuddered.
"What the—"
It was like nothing he had ever seen.
Everything in the forest paused for one second and turned black and white. Sethryn felt like a spectator watching it unfold through the old black and white televisions in the real world.
That was the effect of the skill called the Right of Roaming.
Sethryn was detached from the current world and viewed the events that occurred within it from the outside.
[ Countdown: 42 Seconds ]
He could see everything that happened within a certain radius — present and future.
"Who's that?"
He saw a young elf. She was tattered, drenched, and dirty.
Sethryn could see her but she could not see him. It was like Sethryn did not exist in their realm any longer.
Right of Roaming assigned him the role of an outsider that roamed about and watched events of the world within the sphere of his skill's influence.
He watched Lysar stop by the bank of another river to drink. She bent low and immersed her face in the refreshing cold water, forgetting her worries for a moment.
[ Countdown: 29 Seconds ]
"Huh?"
Sethryn caught a glimpse of many shadows that approached silently from behind Lysar. He observed as they trod carefully so they do not alert the young elf.
"Hey! Watch out!"
Noticing the weapons in their hands as they drew closer, Sethryn shouted to alert Lysar, who had just raised her face from the water.
"Watch out!"
[ Countdown: 12 Seconds ]
Before she could notice their presence, a green arrowhead went through her chest from the back and blood began to seep out from her mouth.
She neither noticed the goblins nor did she hear the warnings of the outsider.