Yung Jae's anger, disappointment, and tiredness were gone, washed away by the magnificent scene. He like being reborn.
Here, in the third dungeon, the flowery scent danced on his nostrils, welcoming Yung Jae.
It was different from the last two dungeons. The wall and ceiling were made of a thick fluffy soft pillow and white like a summer cloud.
Then, Yung Jae stepped forward. Beneath his ebony shoes, a grass whirled danced with the warm soothed gust.
"Where am I?" Yung Jae loved being here, but he needed to know where it was. He has not yet abandoned his main quest, log out.
As he stepped further, he came to the strange lake with a gigantic solid willow stand on a small isle of the lake.
The ancient willow was umbrellaing a flower bed below with its red leaves, red as autumn, yet no one fell to the ground. It was like being glued there.
The clangor of a sword sharpened with a wheatstone came from beneath the willow tree.
His curiosity guided him to move closer towards the ancient willow tree.
There, he noticed a strange figure seated beneath the willow tree.
Guided by it, Yung Jae moved closer to the person while slowly unsheathed his dagger. Just in case of confrontation. He didn't know if the figure was a player or an NPC.
It could be a monster, a boss he must defeat before leaving the dungeon.
"At last, you come!" The man said.
Night wave hair covered his limestone neck. He occupied a quartzite stone facing a silver sword embedded in the ground, leaning at his leg. A Wheatstone hauls the blade up and down while the sword sheath lies beside a flower bed.
The man wore a silver medieval plate mail chain, protecting his arms. While plate armor bastioned his heart and before the waist. Below, just a vanilla tunic with a white snow coat embroidered with a golden string of strange symbols, a sword, and a shield with wings beneath it.
A gray wolf fur robe with a white milk lapel covered his back, and the bottom was piled up behind his seated rock. Beside him lay a silver heraldic helmet embroiled with gold and adorned with a wing on the left and right of its visor.
The knight glanced briefly at him and smirked before sharpening his sword. "Young, too young." The middle-aged knight's voice was deep countertenor and gave nothing except to confuse Yung Jae.
Yung Jae said, "What do you mean?"
"I'm hoping for a more seasoned knight." The knight said. "Not a spring leaf snorty pants like you. Besides, where is your armor, boy? Why did you wear that strange thing?"
Yung Jae asked, "Are you a monster?"
He laughed. "For my enemy, yes. Are you an enemy?"
Should he trust the knight? It's probably an NPC. "Tell me how to get out of here."
"NPC? what was that?"
Yung Jae gasped, and his eyes widened. He never speaks that out loud. How did he know it? "Non-playable character in-game."
"Game? Is there any boar or any elk around him? There is no game here, boy."
Yung Jae tried not to daggle too much here. He needed to get back to the real world fast before he lost his job. "Tell me where the way out is and how to get out."
"The way out of this world?" The knight continued. "Or simply from this tiny piece of heaven?"
"Heaven?" Yung Jae said. "I just want to return to the city before night ends. Tell me how, and I leave you in your serenity."
"Ah, night! Is there still a moon out there? A star? A Milky Way?" The knight laughed with sorrow.
The knight lifted his diamond chin and took a peek at Yung Jae while soaking his stone in the lake. "How did you get here? You defeated a dragon outside?"
Yung Jae was shook his head and sheathed his dagger. "No… no, but glitched. The wall glitched and sucked me in."
The man rose, craned on his sword, and murmured, "The man was on his bargain." He sighed and sheathed his sword. "Then there will be only you who will help me."
"Help with what?" Is this a scriptic event? "You didn't even give me an answer."
"There is no drama here, boy, so there was no script. Only me, one of the nine-element knights. Trapped here with a dragon guarding the way out while then enjoy their life, drinking, hunting, fucking, shit. All because I lost a paper stone scissor."
Yung Jae can't understand how the knight works. If he was the dungeon boss, then Yung Jae should battle him instead. But no, he didn't even raise his sword against him.
Besides, this palace was extraordinary.
"Come, boy, the way out is here."
Yung Jae stopped for a while. Should he trust him? He might be a monster trying to kill him.
"I'm unarmed. How could I kill you?!" The knight blared.
God dammit, he could read Yung Jae's mind. But he was right. He was unarmed, and that sword was toy. Who did he try to dumb? Yung Jae gripped his dagger hilt, just in case.
As Yung Jae followed him, he asked, "What palace is it anyway? Why is it so calm?"
"Shard of memory. My shard of memory. Cool, huh? I used to waste my time beneath the ancient willow tree, reading a book or cuddling with ladies, drinking and had hot nights in sweat together." He chuckled, then murmured. "Because those damn traitors, everything was…."
Yung Jae let him murmur alone and took a peek at a willow tree. There, another man leaned on the tree and wore the same armor as the knight but looked ancient.
He squinted to see more clearly. Then he was shocked. There was no man, just a skeleton. "Your friend?" He asked the knight.
"Here is the way out." The knight stopped at the front of the ancient gate. The same gate that Yung Jae saw early before the dungeon. "And here you're a weapon. I already grinned for at least a thousand years. Yes, you're welcome. Just do your job."
Yung Jae took the sword. It is surprisingly light. It was a freebie. Who didn't want to? "But, what? Why did you give me this, and what should I do?"
"What do you do in your training season? You're the lazy one, aren't you? Did you, Maester not give you anything before you venture here?"
Yung Jae sook. "No… no, what knight maester?"
"Unbelievable. Which Knight Chapter did you come from?"
"What chapter? I came from Seoul. Seriously, is this a scripted grand opening event? If yes, cool. But—"
The knight guffawed. "Oh wow, fantastic. Not only they made me guard the freaking sword, but now they want me to teach this green leaf. How dare they throw him to me! No, no, I'm done. I did my duty."
"What? Is There still a quest after this? Can I do it later? I must log out—"
"Whatever." He pushed Yung Jae to the door while the young man held the sword on his chest.
Yung Jae gazed flatly at him. Now, the knight was not a monster. He was too numb and goofy to be one. Even the monster's slime was more dangerous than him.
"Oh ho ho, you are a mean child. How could I duddle more than slime? I was here alone, you know, sulking there! Almost forever." Then he stopped for a while. He saw the dead warrior. His eyes glittered with tears. "Forever…."
Yung Jae didn't know the reason for those sad eyes, but anything capable of making a hunky knight cry must be special.
Yung Jae cleared his throat. "So, what happened to you after I left?"
"Heaven, maybe, or hell." The knight nudged Yung Jae hard, making him almost feel it.
Yung Jae took a chance, seeing him wipe his tears.
The knight pushed him again. "If you had something to ask, you would want to find Maester Barristan Aventi. He will tell you everything. Now go, I have been waiting for this moment for a thousand years! Don't you dare mess with me?"
"Okay… I guess? Say, who are you, Knight?" YungvJae raised his hand, asking for a handshake.
The knight felt silent. He smiled warmly. "Name. It's been a long time since someone asked my name." He handshake to Yung Jae. "Kaeya, Kaeya the moon dew. And you, squire?"
"I'm not a squire, just an animator programmer. Yung Jae, my name."
"Now go. Do your job, knight. Let me rest… I'm tired."
Yung Jae entered the door, but his heart felt sad, like an autumn leaf leaving the willow. As he turned around, the door slowly faded. The willow tree lost every one of its leaves, and the lake was drouth. The knight glowed blue.
Kaeya waved. "Go, your journey has just begun. This Is your story, kiddo. One more thing, if you see Mintgard, tell him I fuck his wife hard, sorry." The door disappeared, leaving Yung Jae in the void.
He had just met him, but somehow, his heart was hard to leave. Or perhaps the sword was hard to depart from its old pal?
He didn't know, but the sword drew his heart closer to Kaeya. He felt like he was an old friend.
Yung Jae stared at the sword. "Maybe it was the way the world rewarded me. But… goodbye, Kaeya, the Moon Dew."
Following the enlightened path in the darkness, Yung Jae found another door and entered it without hesitation.
The light warmed clouded him, and he was transported to the forest.
Yung Jae studied his surroundings; there was no wall, and the voice of the night forest welcomed him. Above, the Milky Way divided the night full of stars. He realized that the map was returning. He was now in Aventi forest, near Terrish city.
He can't hide his expression. He jumped and touched the wind. "Woo hoo! Yeey, I'm out of the hell hole!"
He jabbed, ran, and sang. When he reached the city gate, he opened his windows and…..
"Hah, where did my logout button go?"