As soon as Amelia stepped through the shimmering gate, the world unfurled.

  Birdsong trickled from the canopy above. The scent of flowers—honeysuckle, lavender, and something faintly arcane—lingered in the air. Sunlight filtered through leaves like stained glass, and everything pulsed with color. Even the moss looked hand-painted.

  ? [Quest Received: Find the Elder’s Home]

  Reward: 50 EXP

  Amelia blinked. “Uh… okay? But how do I know which house—”

  Her words died as a beam of light, warm and heavenly, lanced through the treetops and struck one particular home nestled near the far edge of the town. Its roof was curved like a flower in bloom, every window lined with glimmering stone and petals that moved on their own like they were breathing.

  She let out a short laugh. “Right… subtle.”

  As she walked, she drank in the town’s detail: elves bartering at runic stalls, children weaving tiny spells into ribbons, and fountains filled with silverfish that shimmered like starlight. A butterfly landed on her finger—and twitched, vibrating faintly with mana.

  A sense of unease crept in when her jaw suddenly clenched—

  Pfft!

  “Gah!” she gagged, slapping her tongue.

  Bug.

  Definitely a bug.

  She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, glaring at the air.

  “Was that a real bug? Or… no, no, I’m not gonna think about that.”

  The Elder’s home loomed now before her, taller than expected, carved from living wood that pulsed faintly with bioluminescence. Before she could knock, the door creaked open.

  Another elf—tall, lean, and armed to the teeth—stepped past her, their eyes flicking up at her avatar with the faintest smirk. Another player, no doubt. Probably some early starter. Before Amelia could speak, they vanished down the path in a sprint.

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  “Come in, child,” a voice rasped from inside.

  She stepped in.

  The interior was dim and glowing, like amber trapped in eternal twilight. Candles hovered mid-air, suspended in time. Crystals pulsed. A hunched elf in gold-lined robes leaned heavily on a gnarled walking stick, his back twisted, hair white as frost.

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” he croaked, eyes milky but oddly aware. “Though… you took longer than expected.”

  Amelia blinked. “Sorry?”

  He waved it off. “No matter. The task I intended for you was taken. Overzealous youth. But another remains.”

  He shuffled toward a parchment map on the wall.

  “The blacksmith is running low on mana shards. I would ask you, young one, to go and harvest them. Imps infest the cave to the east.”

  ? [Quest Received: Harvest the Imp Shards]

  Objective: Kill 15 Imps and collect their mana shards.

  Reward: 200 EXP, +1 Magic Robe (selectable).

  “I won’t fail you,” Amelia said instinctively.

  The Elder gave her a strange look… one that felt deeper than pixels.

  The cave mouth yawned like the open jaws of some forgotten beast. Moss clung to its edges like drool. As Amelia approached, she spotted signs of recent battle: burned-out spell craters, cracked stones, imp corpses littering the grass with blood like black ink.

  “Guess someone got here first…”

  She stepped in, heart beating faster. The deeper she went, the more the light fled. Shadows hung thick, and the air turned damp and heavy.

  An imp scurried from a corner, snarling.

  ? [Tutorial: Skill Activation – Firebolt]

  Point and cast. Low mana cost, mid-range, burn chance.

  “Simple enough.”

  She raised her staff. Fire coiled up the wood and launched with a crack.

  The bolt slammed into the imp’s chest, igniting it. The creature screeched, clawed at its face, then fell into spasms.

  She didn’t feel triumphant.

  She felt… something else. A tremor in her fingertips. That didn’t feel like a game. That felt like real recoil. Real heat.

  More imps followed. One leapt from the ceiling. She scorched it mid-air. Another tried to circle her—she spun and fried it from the hip.

  Soon, her mana bar thinned. Her breath quickened. Her arms ached.

  Imps weren’t hard—but they were relentless.

  Eventually, the bodies thinned out. She wandered deeper, torch crystals dimming around her. She made turns without thinking—left, right, right again… then left.

  She paused at a fork.

  To the left: a clearly worn path, footprints, glowing mushrooms.

  To the right: a jagged break in the stone. A collapsed wall—suspiciously unnatural. Black moss crept around the gap like veins.

  “Probably not where I’m supposed to go…”

  She grinned.

  “...perfect.”

  She stepped through.

  And the temperature dropped.

  The light vanished. The cave breathed.

  ? [Area Discovered: Sealed Hollow]

  Warning: This zone is not recommended for your level.

  The air shimmered with red sparks. Whispers trickled from the walls. And something… was watching.

  She raised her staff.

  “Let’s see what you’re hiding down here…”