"Hey! Dola come check this out!"
I overheard Remi's peppy voice as she beckoned her boyfriend to come to her.
He turned to her with a small smile on his lips. His eyes were brimming with excitement as he approached her.
"Coming."
He jogged over to her and stopped by her side, turning to look at the object of interest.
"What is that?", he asked in a slightly bewildered tone.
"I think it's a flower?", a voice said from beside Remi; it was Marilyn, her best friend.
Just as she said that, a short boy in the corner who had his hands in his pockets, shook his head and smiled, "Nope. It's a parasite."
The moment he said that, the girls paled and took a step back. Dola turned to him with a scowl and asked, "How do you know?"
Quy, the short boy simply said, "It's growing from the bark of that tree, so it must be a parasite. We learnt that from our biology lessons, don't you remember?"
His voice sounded chirpy but between his words, hid a strange malice.
Hiding in a shrub, I simply shook my head.
Sigh...kids these days...
You do realize you're a kid as well, right?
Shut up...
Dola's eyes widened slightly in realization, "Oh..."
Then, he furtively distanced himself from the 'parasite.'
The four lingered for a moment before walking away.
I who observed all of this from a shrub looked at them with a bored expression.
Once they left, I stood up and walked towards the so-called 'parasite'.
"Beautiful..."
At the center of my vision, a rainbow-colored tulip-like plant rested on its protrusion from a tree. The beautiful plant seemed to absorb the rays of sunshine around it, making it give out an ethereal glow.
I walked towards it and stopped a few meters away from it.
That plant isn't a parasite...the tree benefits from it too by absorbing the rays of sunshine the plant gets...
No shit, Sherlock, my inner voice chimed in.
Yeah of course...only I could have figured that out...
Don't get a big head now.
I sighed as I opened my hands.
Inventory Open.
Suddenly, a weave of blue particles formed an oval shaped outline before materializing into a bright colored leaf.
[Equipped Item:] Acolyte Leaf
An hour ago, I discovered that we players have an inventory. The inventory turned out to be 5x5 in size.
That's about half the size of a standard bedroom.
[Inventory:] School Uniform, Blade of Grass, Rock Pebbles, Twigs, Acolyte Leaves
I had been able to collect a few items and store it.
I gazed at the plant for a while then sighed, before...violently yanking it out of the tree. Immediately, the plant began to lose it hue.
I opened my palm and saw it, growing lifeless by each growing minute.
Store.
Suddenly, an outline of the flower formed around it before the flower itself, scattered into several particles.
[You have gained a Common Item: Acolyte Flower.]
I opened my inventory to check.
[Inventory:] School Uniform, Blade of Grass, Rock Pebbles, Twigs, Acolyte Leaves, Acolyte Flower.
Satisfied, I turned to the woods and smiled.
Finally...time to explore...
I stretched my hands a little and began walking. My hands automatically slipped into my pockets as I lazily made my way across the woods.
"This thicket is truly dense...really..."
The Wyvern Woods was a truly fantastical place. It had tall trees that scraped the sky and several scattering of leaves on its base. Each of these leaves have a strange gray line on their green surfaces and the trees themselves have a completely smooth and clear ash bark.
A dense but strangely pleasant fog encompasses the woods. The fog parts voluntarily whenever someone walks towards them and doesn't obscure our vision.
Truly creepy if you ask me...
I stopped for a moment and then looked down, observing my footsteps.
I have no qualms about my memory but better safe than sorry...
I continued to walk before reaching a certain tree.
What the-?
Before me was a Wyvern Wood tree, standing tall and majestic just like the rest except there was one thing wrong with it. I stopped a few meters away from it and observed it. I watched it for a few moments and noticed a slight difference in it.
It's ajar...
Indeed, the large tree before me was bent but ever so slightly that it was almost imperceptible. Nevertheless, I noticed it...
Suddenly, I had a bad premonition.
Surely, there are no monsters here...right?
I lingered for a moment and then shook my head.
Am being unnecessarily paranoid, the tree could just be in the process of natural felling...
I rubbed my face and turned away, completely unaware of a strange mark on the other side of the tree.
A couple of minutes later, I arrived back at our starting point.
"Hmm...there aren't many people around..."
Indeed, just a few of my classmates were still around. Many had ventured into the thicket, in a quest for adventure.
I looked up and observed the sun.
Does this game have a day and night cycle?
"Oi Alex."
A voice called out to me, interrupting my thoughts. I turned to the source and let out a small smirk.
"Sup, Fawn been a while."
Fawn was a boy of average height with unassuming features and full black hair. He was dressed in our school uniform and had a grin on his face.
A forced one for sure...
Fawn was a friend of mine...but now he's merely an acquaintance, who talks to me once in a while.
"We wanna explore this place, and see what we can find. So, am asking for a couple of our classmates to join our group.", he said in a friendly tone.
I glanced at his group.
It consisted of three girls and two other guys.
Ayarr, Eliza, Kansola, Lil David and Dave...
Meh, should be fine...
I shrugged, "Sure why not?"
He smiled and said, "Good...come on let's go meet them."
I followed Fawn and walked over to his group. The girls shot me annoyed looks before Ayarr voiced their collective opinion, "Why is he here?"
Fawn hurriedly said, "Well...no one else agreed to follow."
Ayarr turned to my indifferent gaze and glared at me.
"Do we need another person? Can't the six of us go?"
Fawn lingered for a moment but Dave cut in, "He knows the way around here, he'll serve as a guide so we don't get lost."
Ayarr didn't seem to be satisfied with that response but nevertheless, she turned away.
Fawn sighed and apologized to me, "Sorry, she's a handful."
He walked over to her after saying that. Soon, the seven of us left for the woods.
Six of them walked in the front, chatting happily among themselves. They were couples after all.
I, the seventh one, walked behind them from a considerable distance.
It was at that very moment that my inner voice chose to speak.
Aww...look at them...so happy and look at you, a pile of spaghetti...
My mouth twitched as I walked.
You know when to kick me, huh?
I shook my head and continued walking.
We had already transversed a considerable distance from our starting point, yet we still hadn't found anything other than trees and grass beds.
As I was contemplating this fact, Dave raised a hand.
"I hear rushing water."
Instantly, everyone perked up and Kansola spoke, "Where?"
Dave lingered for a moment and turned in the left direction, without answering her. She frowned at his actions before following him, prompting the others to follow suit.
Hehe...it seems like couples have it rough too...
Not as rough as you, though.
Shaddup!
I grimaced and trailed them.
"Dave, are you sure of what you heard?", Fawn asked as he dashed after him.
"Yes, am sure, I heard the sound of water pouring...it's getting closer!", he said as he sprinted through the woods.
Fawn struggled to keep up with him, Lil David and the girls had it much worse. Ayarr, in particular, was behind the racing group. I who was far behind, jogged after them.
With my peak physical prowess, I could likely outrun Dave but... I don't dislike hanging around the periphery for a little while longer...
We ran for a while before finally reaching our destination.
"Wow...", I heard Eliza gasp as she took in the breath-taking scene.
No way...
Reflected on my retina, was the image of a vast lake with a modest waterfall above it. The roaring sound of the water hitting the lake was surprisingly pleasant to the ears and the tranquil body of the lake seemed to give off an ethereal glow.
"Haha! A pool!"
Lil David screamed in excitement as he took off the shirt of his school uniform.
That fool!
I frowned and stared at him incredulously, "Hey-"
Instantly, my voice was drowned by the excited cheers of my classmates. The girls abandoned all reason and raced into it; Fawn wasn't left out either. He had a bright smile on his face as he tore of his shirt and soaked in.
"Yes! Now this is truly another world!", he yelled in excitement.
I stared at them agape, momentarily stunned.
How can they be so careless?! What if the water isn't safe?
As I pondered on their foolish actions, someone touched my shoulder.
"Think you could have found that, Mr. Mastermind?", Dave said with a sly grin.
I turned to him, keeping a neutral expression on his face.
"Yeah, I definitely would."
"Mm-hmm", he shook his head and turned to the lake. He gazed at it for a moment, a strange expression appearing on his face then he shrugged and said, "Am gonna take a swim."
"Uhh...good luck."
I turned to the lake and stared at it.
Maybe I should take a swim to...
I thought for a moment and then shook my head, then I turned to walk away.
This seems too early...are we supposed to have found something like this so soon?