A New Player Enters the Village
Linda slowly approached the mana flasks, but didn't disconnect them. Her gaze, filled with disbelief, remained fixed on them. Even though her husband earned a decent amount of mana flasks through his job—one he utterly despised—five high-quality mana flasks was a lot. Sometimes they even had to adjust their monthly budget because he refused to accept missions that involved capturing innocent people.
And yet, they always saved a few flasks just so their daughter could play. She wasn't allowed to go outside, and this was her only escape.
But now, thanks to a simple game… her daughter had obtained five high-quality mana flasks in just one or two days of play.
"It's amazing!" Sally said excitedly. "Loli and the others said a single high-quality flask lasts a really long time. According to Bert, it can fuel about a thousand hours of gameplay. And since time moves twice as fast in there, that's basically two thousand hours!"
Linda blinked. She looked at the flasks, then at the computer… and finally at her daughter.
"Explain everything about this game to me," she said, her voice completely serious.
Sally, seeing her mother's expression, knew there was no way out. So she began from the beginning—how she had first entered the world, what the Spirit Village was, how Loli's shop worked, who Lua was… everything.
Several minutes passed, and Linda remained seated in front of her, processing all the information as Sally finished explaining.
"I see… so it's a village under construction. And the demon beast cores can be obtained through hunting, though it takes time. But you can also open your own store to avoid fighting those dangerous creatures."
Linda crossed her arms, thoughtful.
"You say there aren't many players yet… but that girl named Sig is bringing in a lot of people she knows, like employees. She sounds like some kind of company boss. If she's putting that much effort into bringing others, it means she sees real potential in this game."
Sally nodded.
"And the little girl you befriended is, for now, the only one who has a shop. She sells things she crafts herself, or things Lua—an NPC, you said—gives her to sell. This Lua… she acts very human. Maybe she's some kind of high-level artificial intelligence supporting the store directly."
"Yes," Sally confirmed with a tired smile, since her mother had repeated the summary several times as if confirming each detail.
"Are you sure you want to invite me? I could help with the shop, sure… but your father would probably be more useful out hunting and gathering stuff," Linda said seriously.
"We'll invite him later. Right now, we need someone to help us manage the shop. Liora has two crafting professions and I just got one too, thanks to her. If we spend more time creating and less time handling customers, we'll be able to stock more items."
Linda remained silent for a moment. The idea wasn't bad. And truth be told, she had never enjoyed fighting. If she could earn money selling items—or even learning a creative profession like her daughter—it would be perfect.
"Alright. Send me the invitation," she said, nodding with resolve.
"Great!" Sally rushed to her computer, opened the interface, and traded one demon beast core for an invitation, which she sent to her mother's console. "I'll wait for you at the village entrance. If you need help choosing your first form, we'll ask Loli. She's really nice."
Linda nodded and left the room without another word.
…
"Liora!" Sally called out as soon as she entered Drunai. The moment her virtual body materialized, she sprinted straight toward the shop.
Liora was sitting on her workbench, gently swinging her feet while finishing a light rabbit-hide armor. It had been commissioned by Rachel and Segler, who had just returned from a hunt before logging out.
"Sally? Did you invite your mommy?" Liora asked, looking up with a big smile.
"Yep! Let's go meet her!"
"Let's go!" Liora replied, immediately dropping everything and rushing out with her.
The two ran across the village, drawing smiles from the players around them as they passed by.
They reached the player arrival zone and came to a stop, waiting with excitement.
A few seconds later, a beam of light descended from the sky—the unmistakable sign of a new player joining.
And when the glow faded, both Sally and Liora froze for a second.
Standing before them was a woman with unmistakable features—it was Linda. Her face was exactly the same… but everything else had changed.
Her avatar had long, wavy green hair. Her eyes, also green, sparkled with intensity. Her figure was tall, voluptuous, almost sensual. Her outfit was made entirely of leaves, barely covering the essential parts and leaving most of her skin exposed.
Linda looked around in awe, mesmerized by the environment and unaware of her appearance at first. But then her eyes met her daughter's—now with black hair in-game—and a small tear of joy ran down her cheek… until she looked down.
"AAAAAH!" Linda screamed, immediately covering herself with both hands.
"Mom… I think Dad's going to love this game," Sally said, barely containing her laughter.
"Sally! Give me something to cover up with! Now!" Linda shouted, not knowing where to look.
Liora reacted instantly. She pulled out one of the rabbit-hide armors she had crafted for Rachel and handed it to Sally.
Without wasting time, Sally gave it to her mother, who quickly got dressed—still embarrassed, and now a little flushed.
Right at that moment, Lua appeared.
Linda had just finished putting on the armor, though she still looked slightly uneasy. When she saw the woman approaching—calm gaze, curved horns, and a serene presence—she instantly realized it was the NPC her daughter had mentioned.
Lua didn't say anything at first. She simply glanced at Sally, then at Liora, and with a single look, understood that the newcomer was the result of the invitation Liora had given to Sally.
Her eyes then turned to Linda.
"A dryad," she murmured softly in a neutral tone.
"It seems both mother and daughter received rather rare evolutions," commented Sia mentally, with a hint of surprise. Lua gave a small nod without changing her expression.
Leaving her embarrassment behind, Linda raised her head and met Lua's piercing gaze. Her eyes then dropped instinctively to the woman's horns, remembering what Sally had told her. And then, as if searching for confirmation, her gaze moved down to Lua's left wrist… where a faint barcode was visible.
It was the fake mark Sia had placed to make her look like a system-generated NPC.
And it worked.
Linda didn't hesitate for even a second.
"She's an NPC…" she thought. "She has a barcode. She has everything she's supposed to…"
"If you brought her, then you can handle the explanation. If she has questions, she can find me in the usual place," Lua said in her usual calm tone, turning around to leave without another word.
Linda blinked, confused.
"Aren't NPCs supposed to explain everything in full detail…?" she mumbled to herself.
But before she could question it further, Sally grabbed her hand.
"Come on, Mom! Let's show you around," she said excitedly.
"Let's take her to the shop first!" added Liora, just as thrilled.
Linda barely had time to respond. Between her daughter and the cheerful little fairy, she was gently pulled into the village. And as they walked, she couldn't help but look around in wonder.
The village wasn't large, but it was bursting with life and activity.
To her right, a blonde woman with horns, demonic wings, and a tail walked with determination, carrying what looked like a glowing smoke sphere that floated with a mind of its own.
Further ahead, an eccentric-looking gnome was neatly stacking sheets of paper with obsessive efficiency.
A handsome young man with crystal-like fairy wings was calmly sorting fruits and vegetables into small baskets, as if time held no weight at all.
Near the center, a different type of fairy girl was cooking on a hot stone. She smiled sweetly while stirring something with a wooden spoon, like a character from a storybook kitchen.
Floating around her was a multicolored smoke orb that shifted shapes and burst into laughter every time it moved.
On the roof of a half-rebuilt house, another female figure sat silently, one leg dangling while the other was bent, watching the horizon like a quiet sentinel.
And finally, near the center of it all, was Lua.
The stoic "NPC" sat in front of a makeshift table, resting her chin on both hands in complete calm, as if she were… simply waiting for her food.
Nothing about her posture looked artificial. Nothing about her behavior felt programmed.
And that was what confused Linda the most.
"An AI… at that level?" she thought, astonished. But she didn't have time to dwell on it.
"Come on, Mom—look over there!" Sally said, pointing toward the shop with a radiant smile.
And Linda, for the first time since entering the game… smiled too.