The room, though old and worn, was spotless. The previous owner had kept it meticulously clean. Lin Fei looked up and saw the half-skeleton frame he had knocked over earlier. A pile of white bones lay scattered quietly, the only casualties from Charlotte's final counterattack against the skeletal scouts. Lin Fei knew that while skeleton soldiers lacked intelligence, those controlled by necromancers were quite different. Misjudgments were not related to the youth, as Charlotte knew nothing about this.
In times of peace, few were aware of such things.
The oil painting, cut in half, lay flat on the floor. The chilling longsword of the skeleton soldier was nearby, causing Lin Fei to wince. Madara seemed to have intended to attack immediately after the scouts retreated, skipping the cleanup.
But this did align with his recollection of history.
Hmm?
Lin Fei raised his eyebrows slightly. His gaze lingered on the cut oil painting. He wasn't mistaken—the frame was cut, revealing a hidden compartment.
Wait, an ancestral oil painting? Lin Fei suddenly remembered—it could be the famous Buci's painting?
He struggled to his feet, carefully listening to the surroundings. Lin Fei knew that the one who killed Charlotte was likely a low-level necromancer. Though low-level, they were more than capable of dealing with ordinary people.
In the 'game', low-level necromancers could perform some basic dark magic and summon skeletons and zombies from nearby graveyards. They were cunning and prone to ambushes, posing a significant threat to those unfamiliar with them.
But Lin Fei was different—he probably understood them better than they understood themselves.
He crouched down, tearing the painting's frame apart. With a clink, a ring rolled out. At that moment, Lin Fei couldn't help but take a deep breath. He was incredibly familiar with the ring's design: a silver band that glimmered faintly in the dark, with a wind emblem engraved in the center.
Such patterns were uncommon in the southern regions of Eluin.
This was the emblem of Saint Olso from the North—
Lin Fei carefully wiped the ring with his thumb. It was the famous Wind Emblem Ring, a reward from the "Buci's Painting" quest. However, this quest had disappeared in the next version, and only a few knew of and completed it.
Lin Fei wasn't one of them; he had only heard about the story. The ring was said to be a counterfeit of a relic from one of the Four Saints, Diluth. But how could Charlotte's grandfather have this?
In the game, the Wind Emblem Ring provided a +1 to Dexterity and allowed the wearer to shoot wind projectiles at enemies. It absorbed energy every ten minutes. He wondered if it worked the same way here.
Staring at the ring, Lin Fei's heart raced, momentarily forgetting the surrounding danger. The appearance of the ring confirmed his suspicion that this world was indeed the one he knew.
He sighed deeply, feeling a mix of apprehension and hope. After a moment's hesitation, he slowly slipped the ring onto his index finger—magic rings only activated when worn on the index or thumb. In Vonza, the area between the index and thumb was known as the 'Mystic Zone' by the Taralan witches, believed to be the center of the body's magical power, and most spell gestures originated from this area.
But for Lin Fei, it was just a reflexive action governed by the game rules.
Clang!
As the ring began to activate, a loud crash from downstairs suddenly jolted him.
Lin Fei's heart skipped a beat. He immediately became alert; it could be a noise created by the undead—or it could attract enemies from outside. Ignoring everything else, he dropped the painting and instinctively backed up against the wall, cautiously watching the hall below.
He quickly spotted a sneaky figure.
It was a young girl in a simple leather skirt, cautiously making her way up from below. She glanced around nervously but failed to notice him above. The girl gripped a mason's hammer tightly—looking a bit strained—but she seemed to be searching for something.
Lin Fei couldn't help but sigh.
He coughed softly, and the sound, though not loud, seemed to echo in the empty room.
The girl jumped in surprise, her face turning pale. Despite her panic, she was quite a beauty: her chestnut hair was styled in an elegant bun, but her slender eyes beneath a smooth forehead always seemed to have a hint of allure. Her slightly arched eyebrows and wide, straight nose suggested a strong and independent personality.
She had a unique charm, but she was hardly the picture of a refined lady. You wouldn't expect someone so intent on holding a mason's hammer and wearing a leather skirt with a pouch—resembling those worn by southern merchants—to be a well-bred young lady.
Seeing Lin Fei, the girl relaxed. She sighed in relief, patting her chest with a friendly smile. "Oh, it's you, Charlotte. You scared me!"
"Miss Roman, what are you doing here?" Lin Fei couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
This was the girl Charlotte had always admired, who lived with her aunt in the house across the street. She often had peculiar dreams, like wanting to become a traveling merchant.
Lin Fei found this idea rather absurd. In Eluin, traveling merchants weren't highly respected, and some even equated them with frauds and thieves.
During the reign of King Anson VI, these merchants were known to collude with bandits and were despised, even being called "people with two mouths and three hands."
Two mouths for their eloquence and deceitfulness, and three hands for their dirty tricks. They were seen as a major threat to local security, and Lin Fei had completed many quests dealing with them during his early days in the game.
"I came in through the kitchen window of your house. By the way, your windows are really small! I almost tore my skirt!" The girl complained as she adjusted her skirt.
"No one asked you to come in that way!" Lin Fei thought to himself, already somewhat immune to her personality due to Charlotte's memories.
"I'm not asking about that," he shook his head, "I'm asking why you're here in the middle of the night?"
"I'm worried about you, Charlotte," Roman answered, glancing around with curiosity. "Did you see that skeleton?"
She noticed? Lin Fei observed the girl's gaze fall on his chest.
"You're hurt?" The future merchant tilted her head, blinking.
"Uh…"
"Let me see," she hurried up the stairs, grabbing his hand to move it away from his wound. "Don't block it. It might get infected!" She complained as she examined his injury.
She took a deep breath and looked up. "Such a severe wound!"
Lin Fei felt the girl's cold hand on his own, his heart beating a bit faster. Though he knew these were Charlotte's feelings, he didn't actively try to stop them.
"It's fine…"
"Fine my foot!" The merchant girl gave him a scolding look and rummaged through her leather pouch. "Wait a moment, I think I have some bandages…"
Lin Fei watched with interest. He knew the items in Roman's pouch were her treasures. It was filled with odd little things Charlotte had bought for her—like seashells, colorful glass beads, brass whistles, and ancient coins. Though these items weren't worth much, they were rare in this region.
Roman's biggest hobby was collecting such curiosities from old markets. Although neither had much money, Roman always managed to find inexpensive and intriguing items.
He stopped her hand and shook his head. "Go inside to find it. It's too dangerous here."
"I'm not afraid of those skeletons," she looked up at him and finally found a first-aid kit. "Can you bandage it? I don't know how."
Lin Fei opened the kit, took out bandages and antiseptic cotton, and hesitated. He had always wanted to find first-aid supplies, still subconsciously treating this as a game world where bandages healed and restored health automatically. But now he realized that bandaging was a specialized skill in reality and couldn't be done haphazardly.
"Roman, how about I give it a try?" The merchant girl looked eager.
"No need." Lin Fei hurriedly declined. He knew better than to risk it.
He decided to try using his game knowledge as a last resort. If it failed, he could only blame fate. He bit one end of the bandage and tore it, wrapping it around the wound carefully, avoiding wrapping it too tightly.
Suddenly, he froze.
He saw a pale green number, +1, slowly appear on his wound.
At that moment, Lin Fei's mind felt like it had been hit by a heavy bomb, and he was at a loss for what to do next. But he quickly came to his senses, fervently thinking, "Attributes, attributes, show me!"
He waited with a mix of anticipation and fear, and after about a second, a faint set of data appeared in his view:
Strength 1.0, Dexterity 2.0, Constitution 0.9.
Then another set of data floated ghost-like in his vision:
Intelligence 1.1, Willpower 1.3, Perception 1.0.
Absolute Strength 1.0, Elemental (Unawakened) —
Below this data, lines of text and numbers cascaded down, forming a page of seemingly surreal information:
Charlotte, Human Male, Level 1 (Strength System: Physical, Melee) P:1 (Commoner Level 1: —, Militia Level 1, 0/3) Health (Weak): 60 (Bandaged State, recovers 1 point per day) Occupations — Commoner [Basic Knowledge (Level 1), Geography Knowledge (Level 0), Local Knowledge (Level 1)] Militia [Military Swordsmanship (Level 1), Combat Skills (Level 1), Tactical Theory (Level 0), Military Organization (Level 0)]
Indeed, indeed!
Lin Fei couldn't help but think that the feeling of suddenly becoming extremely wealthy was similar to his current state. Was this a dream? It couldn't be. He knew in dreams, logic was rarely this clear and coherent, and people rarely questioned if they were dreaming.
But was he still in the game?
No, the game's history had reached the year 2E19.
The young man felt his head spinning, as if a flood of new ideas had overwhelmed him, making him slightly dizzy. But Lin Fei shook his head, realizing everything was real! He had read so many novels about people crossing into game worlds; he was not the first, nor would he be the last.
Martha, does the Supreme Deity truly exist?
Lin Fei couldn't help but pray deeply to the world's only supreme deity. He stared blankly at the virtual data projected onto his retina, asking himself:
Isn't this your world, Lin Fei? What more do you want?
Yes, as a seasoned warrior of level 130, what more could he ask for? He had experience and foresight.
If he still couldn't control his own fate, he would indeed be ashamed. But the feeling of being full of confidence was truly wonderful.