The night sky was covered with dark clouds, pressing down on the forest like a coffin lid. Thunder rumbled as heavy rain poured down, turning the soft soil gradually into mud. Muddy rainwater continuously washed over the cliffs, coating the rocks with a layer of leaping water film.
Even in the pouring rain, high-level monsters still wandered out of their caves. Skeleton soldiers had no flesh and blood so they couldn't be used as a midnight snack, but Xu Yue couldn't be sure; maybe some feline monster would play with his skull as a ball.
The heavy rain masked all sounds, making the night destined to be more dangerous. But when one carried the status of "Automatically perish in sunlight", one really didn't have many choices.
Amidst the rumbling thunder, Xu Yue's hit points were rapidly decreasing.
[HP: 60/81]
[HP: 51/81]
[HP: 39/81]
...
At this moment, his head was wrapped in bush branches, rapidly rolling down along the cliff. Xu Yue gritted his teeth, ensuring that the thick bush branches in his mouth wouldn't be knocked off. Even though he took measures to cushion the fall, the falling damage was still frightening.
But he had no other choice. For a skeleton soldier, this was the only feasible way down the mountain—
After saying goodbye to his neighbors, Xu Yue decides to go to the nearest novice village. "Nearest" was a beautiful term, but it wasn't actually the case.
The novice village was called "Three Forks Road". The three kingdoms of Gemino, Inato, and Shidina took the Dragon Mountain Range as their border, and the village of Three Forks Road was at the junction deep within the mountains. As Players leveled up, they could occasionally witness the magnificent sight of dragons flying across the sky.
However, the Dragon's Lair was on the rugged peaks, while Three Forks Road was in a depression between the mountains. To prevent reckless Players from wandering in, the area around the Dragon's Lair was full of cliffs, ferocious beasts, and frequently occurring bad weather.
This might be self-inflicted.
Xu Yue disassembled his bones, binding them neatly with vines like a bundle of firewood, then wrapped them in bush branches. He rolled them down the cliff on a gentle slope. When his body arrived at the bottom in pieces, he struggled to reassemble himself again.
He had done this three times tonight. Fortunately, the skeleton didn't feel pain.
...
[HP: 30/81]
[HP: 16/81]
[HP: 11/81]
The health loss gradually stopped. The bush branches scattered, causing the skull to roll slower and slower among the rocks. The heavy rain washed the skull to a ghastly white, making the will-o'-wisps in Xu Yue's eye sockets dim significantly.
'HP is still at 11. Not bad.' His worst estimate was 9, so everything was still within expectations…
Crack.
Under the impact of rainwater, a rock from the cliff suddenly smashed down, causing the ground to make an ominous sound.
Xu Yue's vision shook wildly. His skull fell into a freshly formed crevice, bouncing around like a ball on a pool table, knocking about in the narrow rocky path, and falling with the water towards the ground.
[HP: 8/81]
Xu Yue: ???
[HP: 5/81]
Xu Yue: …!
[HP: 3/81]
…Such a death would be too ridiculous!
Everything happened so suddenly that Xu Yue hadn't had time to think carefully when he fell onto something soft.
[HP: 2/81]
Xu Yue's hit points finally stop flashing, resting at the blood red "2". During this time, fate had indeed been unkind to him.
Wait a minute. Why did he have a soft landing?
Just as the question popped up, a pair of hands grasped Xu Yue's head on both sides and turned his face in a different direction.
Necronomicon creatures possessed night vision. Before Xu Yue saw the person's face, the first thing he saw was hair—silver white, loose, long hair.
It wasn't the white hair of an old man; it was smooth and clean, shimmering with the youthful gloss unique to young people. With movement, the long hair gently slid over the person's chest, its soft reflection slowly swaying as if it had a life of its own.
And above that was the face—a very handsome face.
It wasn't one that had those cold, furrowed brows, nor was it pretentious and self-important. This face gave the impression of a "handsome friend of a good friend", making one subconsciously feel friendly and approachable.
The other party looked younger than thirty. His face still showed surprise, and his light golden eyes were fixed on Xu Yue's… skull.
A Player.
Xu Yue judged immediately.
On this person's left ear was a golden earring with a small square emblem hanging below it—the game logo of "Tahe World". The will-o'-wisps in the skull's eyes were the only source of light here. Xu Yue stared at the earring. The familiar logo flickered softly in the blue light.
Fortunately, in the midst of misfortune, this Player didn't attack Xu Yue immediately. He only held the skull and examined it carefully with very gentle movements.
Xu Yue was about to cry out for help, but rationality stopped him at the last moment.
In the design of "Tahe World", Players should wear golden ear cuffs, not earrings.
By touching the ear cuff twice, Players could summon the game's main interface. Considering aesthetic differences among Players, the artists designed the ear cuffs to be simple and delicate, hardly noticeable. If the Players were willing to pay extra, the ear cuffs could even become invisible.
However, the earring in front of him was ostentatious and tasteless, so Xu Yue couldn't help but think of an animal ear tag.
It wasn't time yet. He needed more information before calling for help. Moreover, he didn't yet know this Player. If the other party's character wasn't good, it would only bring more trouble.
As Xu Yue rapidly thought, the white-haired young man casually found a rock and set the skull on it. He seemed to regard Xu Yue as a mere lighting tool.
Xu Yue kept quiet and took the opportunity to look at the Player up and down.
He wore a loose linen shirt with the cross-neck strap undone, and the fabric was covered with dust and grass. The belt was rough, holding an old hunting knife, a water pouch, and a fist-sized cloth bag. The dark trousers were like hunting clothes, slightly more fitting than the shirt, tucked into mud-splattered boots.
His profession was unclear, but his level seemed low. Probably an unlucky fool who had run around after leaving the novice village.
The young man found a relatively dry spot and pulled out a piece of jerky from his bag, eating it leisurely.
This guy sure had guts to eat alone with a skull underground in the dead of night. But what type of Player that person was, or even the gender of the Player behind the handsome appearance, Xu Yue couldn't discern.
But he had his advantages.
"Nice to meet you, young man."
After the Player finished the jerky, Xu Yue spoke politely. The voice of the skeleton soldier was husky and unpleasant, sounding particularly grating in the small space.
The man turned his head sharply, like a beast ready to attack. But when he steadied himself, all that remained in his eyes was polite curiosity, as if a talking skull was an everyday sight.
"Hello," the Player replied succinctly.
"I used to be a mage. As you can see, unfortunately, I've become an undead." Xu Yue fabricated without hesitation. "Please take me back to my hometown. I dream of returning to that beautiful place. Of course, I will reward you handsomely."
A standard sidequest, not too important but enough to pique curiosity.
Even if the other party couldn't receive a mission prompt, he would only take it as a hidden fun task. Who would doubt the characters of the game world?
The man was silent for a while. "You say you're a mage." He asked conversationally, "What's your name?"
"Nol," Xu Yue answered quickly.
"Nol" was a variant of "No. 1", a name Xu Yue once used for a test character, representing that he was the first Player of "Tahe World". In fact, he used it as his ID in college. He liked the implication of "first", and he was indeed always first.
In such a situation, a familiar name was easier to adapt to.
The Player looked at him seriously and was silent for even longer. Xu Yue waited for a good while before receiving the second question.
"I just have to take your head back?"
"No, I accidentally fell down the mountain, and my body is outside," Xu Yue explained patiently. "You don't need to go find it specifically. If my head and body are separated for more than thirty minutes, my body can regenerate."
But once the body was regenerated, his HP would be reduced to 1 as a penalty. For safety reasons, Xu Yue usually didn't choose this method.
But now, with his HP at 2, it met the standard of desperate measures*.
*Breaking a broken pot (破罐子破摔) Idiom describing a situation where someone has given up on something, so they feel there's nothing left to lose (AKA in for a penny, in for a pound).
"Indeed, taking me with you might cause some inconveniences. But I can help you deal with some monsters, as I know their weaknesses," Xu Yue added.
"It seems like you know a lot about 'monsters'," the man mused.
"When I was alive, I loved studying various monsters." This was actually the truth.
"Then you must know about different places in the world. Mage, can I specify what your 'generous reward' will be?"
"Specify?" This guy was quite cunning. Few Players would turn around and make demands for a set task.
"Don't worry, I don't want money or treasures." The man smiled. "I'm more interested in your knowledge about monsters and the world."
'You've come to the right person then,' Xu Yue thought to himself.
He couldn't figure out why this person would want such information. Was he an experienced Player in a rush to create a game guide? But he had to admit, it was a good proposal. Providing knowledge within controllable limits was indeed more convenient than dealing with gold coins or rare items.
"Deal," Xu Yue stated reservedly.
"Then we are companions."
The young man with white hair smiled as he patted the skull on the head.
"Good evening, Nol. You can call me Teest*."
*His name written in Chinese is (忒斯特) which is pronounced similar to tester. See the author's notes for pronunciation.
His voice had hardly faded when a loud noise of rocks crumbling came from nearby, mixed with the sound of a rushing torrent hitting the walls.
Right, it was raining heavily outside, and this was a dried-up underground river.
Water was coming.
Xu Yue—now it should be called "Nol"—was just about to warn. Teest grabbed the skull and ran in the opposite direction of the water noise, into even deeper darkness.
And at the far end of the distant darkness, a pair of muddy eyes slowly opened.
Accompanied by an unreasonable sense of oppression, clear system prompts simultaneously boomed into both their minds.
[You have entered a hidden area.]
[You have triggered a special quest: The Fallen Guardian.]
[Lich Valdorlock is about to awaken. Good luck.]