Willow followed Aria along the dirt track that cut through the green fields. His eyes were still trying all the time to check if everything was real, but nothing, not even the smallest stone on the ground, seemed to have pixels. What's more, the fresh scent of the countryside completely filled the air. It was the purest air he had ever experienced in his entire life, and such a sensitive sense of smell was something he only had in real life.
As they walked in silence, the elf in front of Willow walked calmly. Her long white hair swayed gently in the breeze. She was wearing light blue armor with metal plates on the shoulders and joints, but, contradictorily, she was wearing a skirt. Well, that was to be expected because she followed the logic of any MMORPG. Aria was also carrying a quiver on her back, but Willow didn't see a bow with her.
"So... you're staying in the village?" Willow broke the silence.
Aria didn't look back, but answered in her usual direct tone. "Don't get excited and don't try to get intimate. I just thought that leaving you wandering around so confused would be a bit cruel. Don't think we're going to become friends or anything."
Willow couldn't judge her for being so rude even to someone she was helping. In a wild world like this, many wouldn't even bother to check whether the man lying by the road was alive or dead.
"Okay... And where are we?"
Aria stopped walking and pointed to the village they were approaching. "That's the village of Ravepal. We're in the south-east of the Aethoria Kingdom."
Just like that, Willow easily located himself in the world of Ether Online. The Aethoria Kingdom was the most populous kingdom in the entire Ether world, and the main nation in the entire Great Continent because it was right in the middle of all the others. In the past, in the so-called Age of Endless Wars, the Aethoria Kingdom was crushed many times to serve as a trade and military troop route between nations, but this ended when the Human, Elven and Dwarven Nations had to unite to fight the Demon Empire, which had been quietly growing in the north-east of the Great Continent.
In the end, the Age of Endless Wars ended and the Age of Continental War began, which lasted until the end of Ether Online.
'Now that I know where I am, I need to know when. Am I just living in the continuation of Ethar's world or have I gone back? Going back in time is common in Manhwas where players are teleported into the game.' Willow thought.
"Hey, can you hear me?" Aria's voice, previously distant, interrupted Willow.
"A-ah, yes. I am."
"Humph. As I was saying, I can take you to the healer. It might help you with your... memory lapse, but, well, I don't have the money to pay for your consultation."
Willow felt a knot forming in his stomach. "Don't worry about it. I'm not in pain. In fact, I'm feeling light. A loaf of dry bread with something to drink will be more than enough. I don't need much."
Aria squinted and analyzed Willow as if trying to read his thoughts. "Are you sure? The healer may be expensive, but he can help you get your memories back. I'm sure that if you explain your situation, he'll help you in exchange for a few days' work."
Considering that Willow was now like a beginner on Ether Online, using the first few days working as an assistant to a healer would be a bit tricky. He could end up learning about herbs and how to create healing potions, but he just wanted to understand what was wrong with him and find a way out of this world. What's more, he might unwittingly run up debts with other people in exchange for shelter and food during these other days that he was forced to spend in the village to repay the healer for his service, which could lead to a long stay. If there was no way out... he would think of a Plan B.
So Willow had to - during that split second - think of a good explanation so that the white-haired elf would no longer insist that he should go to the healer. Luckily, Willow's cunning appeared when he needed it. Willow put a hand to his face and said:
"Actually, I think I remember what happened to me now... Early this morning, the farm where I was employed near the southernmost mountains was attacked by monsters. I managed to escape by luck and ran as far as I could... In the end, I ended up alone, with no energy and no mana. The last thing I saw before passing out was this Ravepal Village."
Aria crossed her eyes as she looked at Willow and then he could see, from the description on the window above her head, that she didn't completely believe what he said. Still, she gave him a positive response.
"Oh... that also explains how your clothes ended up so dirty and tattered. Well, I'm sorry for your losses. Perhaps some adventurer will agree to return to that farm with you so that you can bury the bodies of your colleagues."
"Don't worry about it. I didn't care much about my employers." Willow said, waving one hand as if death were a light matter.
"Yeah, at least you're a free man now." Aria said, and Willow immediately assumed that she no longer saw him as a beggar, but as a former slave. He didn't know which of the two options was worse.
"Let's get going. Ravepal is only a ten minutes' walk away, but it's getting dark. It's not safe to stay in the middle of the road at night, even if the war is going on far from here and there are no scavengers around, there are still other kinds of monsters."
Naturally, Willow continued to follow Aria along the road. The sky was slowly beginning to take on the natural hues of an evening twilight. As they followed, the fresh smell of the countryside gave way to something more unpleasant. It was an acrid smell, which Willow soon recognized as the strong, characteristic stench of animal waste - shit. The dirt road was marked with the tracks left by the horses that had carried goods in and out of the small community. The stench of the village streets was noticeable from afar, and that's what was intoxicating his nostrils. In Ether Online, this kind of detail was just a rare visual texture. When there were unpleasant smells, such as in front of the corpse of a monster, the odors were much weaker than in real life, but now these smells seemed much more intense than ever as if the sensitivity filter was at maximum.
Willow frowned and, out of reflex, put a hand up to cover his nose. Even so, the smell came in when he breathed through his mouth, so he didn't even want to breathe in this place.
On the other hand, Aria seemed absolutely indifferent to the mundane reality of the village. She didn't slow down once.
When they finally reached the entrance to Ravepal, Willow noticed how simple the buildings were, most of them made of wood, some with thatched roofs, others with real tiles. The few houses that had stone bases seemed to belong to the wealthy. The façades of the houses were simple, unadorned and unpainted.
Willow looked around, trying to mentally compare this view with the one he had when he was playing. He had never been to Ravepal when he played Ether Online, except that this town seemed bigger in some ways. Everything was bigger. In games, everything tended to seem less important, especially small, bastard villages like this one. So although this wasn't a place where he'd expect to go adventuring or buy rare equipment, he felt it was bigger than he'd expected.
"It's a... nice place." muttered Willow to himself with a hint of sarcasm.
Surprisingly, Aria, with her keen hearing, heard him. "Don't expect too much. I know you're newly freed, but this village is insignificant compared to the big cities. With luck, it will serve you well as shelter for the night."
From the way Aria spoke, it was clear that this was also her first time in Ravepal.
It wasn't too difficult to find the local tavern within three or four streets of the village, and the establishment was easily recognized because there were horses tied up at the entrance and loud voices coming from inside.
"That must be the tavern." Aria said. "Let's go in."
As Aria took the first step onto the tavern's two-step staircase, a man with a dirty apron and greasy hair stepped out of the space between two horses. As he was holding a brush full of hair in one hand, it was easy to assume that he was busy removing the hair from the horses. This man, without even looking at Willow or Aria, said:
"If I were you, I wouldn't go in there."
"Why?" Willow asked.
The man turned, looked at them and crossed his arms. "A Rank-C adventurer has rented out the whole tavern. No one is allowed in, on his orders."
Willow frowned. 'Rank-C? Puft!'
The title wasn't exactly impressive, but it still indicated a level of respect among adventurers because it was the kind of rank that put someone above average adventurers.
Aria didn't say a word to the man, she just pulled something out of her cloak. In her hands glinted a small silver badge that clearly carried some significance because the man in the apron blinked a few times and took a step back, as if he had been pushed by an invisible force. He didn't say another word, just bowed his head.
"Oh, I'm sorry, miss... I didn't realize you had pointy ears and such an admirable aura. Tavern Keeper Bertabus will be happy to serve you." The poor man said and stepped back.
You'd expect nothing less. The badge Aria showed was a badge bearing the coat of arms of Sylvanor, the Kingdom of the Elves. Earlier, Aria had told Willow that she was a Knight of Sylvanor, and it wasn't a joke. The Knights of Sylvanor were not simply employees of the Great Elf Queen, they were of great importance to Sylvanor and played a major diplomatic role with other nations in the Ether world. According to a rumor Willow had heard once in the past, if a Knight of Sylvanor is outside Sylvanor, it is on a great mission.
'What will Aria's mission be in Aethoria? She's a continent away from home.' Willow thought.
Aria put her badge away and her eyes briefly returned to Willow, as if gauging his reaction. Then she pushed open the tavern door, which swung open with a stifled creak. As the two of them crossed the threshold, a wave of silence enveloped them both. The voices that had echoed from inside, loud and harsh, disappeared as if they had been swallowed up by some spell. Willow felt the gazes resting on him, heavy and suspicious, as if he and Aria were exotic animals that had just entered forbidden territory.
'What a cozy place...' Willow thought, feeling everything.
However, Aria didn't seem to notice. Or, if she did, she simply didn't care. She walked up to the counter while her slightly pointed ears - a clear trace of her elven origins - were on show. This drew gasps from the men who followed her with their eyes. As Aria approached the counter, she once again pulled out the silver badge she had shown the man outside. Sylvanor's coat of arms glittered in the dim light of the oil lamps. As she placed it on the counter, the metallic sound reverberated in a way that made the attendant, a burly man with a beer-stained beard, stop in the middle of cleaning a mug. He glanced at the badge and his eyes widened briefly, before he bowed his head in a discreet bow.
"Welcome, miss." murmured tavern keeper Bertabus.
Aria nodded, as if accepting the attendant's acknowledgment without ceremony. "Food and drink. For me and my companion."
'Companion?' Bertabus thought as he looked at Willow, but he obviously didn't dare delay in agreeing.
In the silence that followed in the tavern, Aria settled down at one of the nearby tables, and Willow followed. As soon as they sat down, Willow could see that the gazes of the other patrons had not yet shifted. Aria's elven beauty was undeniable - her face was thin and the colors of her eyes were rare among humans. Any man would be stunned by such beauty.
When the tavern keeper brought in a battered wooden tray - carrying two mugs of sparkling ale and plates with chunks of meat and rustic breads - he placed everything before them without saying a word.
Willow looked at the food in front of him, trying to disguise his disinterest - he had never been a fan of medieval cuisine in games and now, with everything more vivid, it seemed even more repulsive.
Aria, however, showed no hesitation. Picking up a piece of bread, she began to eat with a voracity that took Willow aback. Her teeth tore through the hard dough as if she hadn't eaten for days. The sound of her chewing was loud and completely at odds with her delicate image.
Willow blinked a few times, confused. This woman, who looked like a noblewoman, was devouring bread and meat like a starving ogre. And he wasn't the only one surprised. The men who had previously looked at Aria with admiration now had expressions of pure shock, some even stunned. It was as if they didn't know how to reconcile that elegant image of the elf with the grotesque scene they were now seeing. One thing was certain: Aria didn't care what anyone thought.
Willow, still stunned, watched the scene in silence.
"Aren't you going to... eat?" Aria asked suddenly with her mouth still full of bread and the words coming out between vigorous chews.
Willow looked at the piece of bread she held out to him. There were crumbs stuck to her fingers, and the bread looked particularly dense and tasteless.
"Uh... yeah, I'll... eat it." he replied, more so as not to seem rude. Slowly, he reached out and took the bread she offered. To the touch, the texture was rough and the dough felt as hard as stone in his hands.
He took a bite while she was still looking at him, and it tasted even worse than it looked. Well, you couldn't expect much from medieval food without proper fermentation techniques.
As Willow ate that bread, he finally remembered that he had checked his attributes, but not his new skills, and so he thought:
'Ah, yes, perhaps I should take the opportunity now to check my Skill Tree.'