Leona and the players entered The Village of Nyi Blorong.
This place was deserted like an abandoned village, the residents who just stare at them with strange smiles on their faces make their heart goes cold.
No villagers walked by, talked to each other, or greeted them. The villagers just followed them with their gazes that didn't blink at all as if they had no eyelids.
The women wore strange clothes made of only a piece of cloth that covers their upper torso, the edges are folded and pinned, tied with additional rope, and covered with an 'angkin' or a smaller sash around the abdomen. While the men are bare-chested and only wear a sarong that covers the lower part of their stomach to the knees.
(A/N: check Para Comment to see how the villagers dress)
The players felt that their way of dressing was very old-fashioned and like an underdeveloped society that had not been able to make their own clothes. However, seeing their climate which is quite hot and is by the beach, they felt that Wangka Island is at the equator of the world so that's why its inhabitants do not need thick clothes to protect their bodies from the cold.
If put into a game then this is a natural thing because the inhabitants of this village are only NPCs who of course do not have activities like humans in general. However, they felt this world was like the real world as they could smell the wood and grass and their skin could feel the wind blowing from the sea.
The hairs on their necks shuddered in horror at the eerie atmosphere of the village. The players had to remind themselves that this was not real by saying "This is just a game" repeatedly in their hearts to dispel the fear. They tried to find various reasons for this strange sight to make sense.
Most likely the data needed for the NPCs to behave like humans were so large that the Doodle Company decided it was normal for NPCs to behave like NPCs in ancient RPG games. Where they just smile with eyes that continue to follow the player whenever he moves. However, their shape, which was very similar to humans, made the players feel like they were looking at a horror painting whose eyes could follow them. (It is also known as Trompe l'oeil.)
"It wasn't a dungeon!" shouted Rou trying to break the eerie atmosphere.
Hearing that the fear in their hearts disappeared a little. They were able to tease each other again like before, "Heh! This is what happens when you're a know-it-all, Billy" Guta snorted in sarcasm.
"What did you say? We were scared like this because from the start you were the one who said that this village was cursed!" accused Billy.
Hearing Billy's words, the other players realized that they had negative thoughts because it was Guta who said that this village was cursed. Coupled with the background story they got, the belief that there was a curse on this village was strengthened.
However, on second thought, this village was not cursed but only created by the game developers who were looking for background stories because of their inability to bring NPCs to life.
To cover up their embarrassment, the players glared at Guta in disgust. They were looking for a scapegoat to blame for making all of them afraid.
Before they all started blaming Guta, from the middle of the formation came a soft female voice that seemed to be suffocated, "Hmm?? guys, can you release me now?"
When they felt the terrifying atmosphere of The Village of Nyi Blorong, all the players near Leona reflexively drew their bodies closer to her. Their male instincts awakened and immediately protected Leona who was in the middle of the formation.
Until now they were still flanking Leona in the middle and would use their bodies to protect her from any approaching danger. This was surprising because most of these men were selfish and self-centered. But when danger approaches sometimes a man's instinct to protect the woman he loves is awakened without them realizing it. Maybe this is what was called a gentlemanly manner.
Hearing Leona's voice, they realized that they had just touched Leona's body. At first, they did this subconsciously but now they did it consciously and didn't want to let go of this cute goddess in their midst.
{Fucking perverts, Let go of me! Let go of me! Your dirty soul will sully my holiness}
Sensing that the surrounding players would not move away, Leona could only look at Rou, Guta, and Billy with a look that was asking for help.
Guta and Rou used to play the role of a tank, while Billy was a scout. So in this formation, their position was in front and they were not standing beside Leona. Seeing the players touching Leona's holy body and she looking around for help, the three of them became furious. With eyes that looked like they were about to kill, they kicked, pushed, and spat at the players who still didn't want to separate from Leona.
"What the fuck are you doing huh you fucking shit!!" said Guta while kicking the players.
"Let go of Leona your fucking rice waste! Your breath will only rust her skin" said Billy as he pulled and pushed the players' bodies away.
"How dare you touch her holy body with your dirty hand! Ptuihh! Ptuihh!" said Rou while spitting on the faces of the players.
The players regained their composure but Billy, Rou, and Guta who were surrounding Leona were watching them warily. Like a mother hen who was protecting her chicks from an eagle's attack.
Leona patted her wrinkled shirt "Guys, we should ask the villagers what really happened to this village. Maybe we can get a quest from them" Leona said as her burning spirit of adventure reignited.
"Ah, but Leona in the quest we got there is a reminder asking us to focus on the main quest first" said Billy worried that they would do something wrong.
Each of them knew that there was only one character for one ID, so they had to be careful not to spoil their character's plot, or they would have to buy a new VR device.
"I understand your concern, but how can we find The Instructor in this vast village? We can't possibly go around the village and search every house. I'm sure that the other players who were ahead of us also asked the residents about The Instructor's whereabouts" said Leona.
Actually, Leona's risk was bigger than the other players. When Leona's current character plot is broken, then there is a possibility that Hendra will buy a new device. Leona didn't know if the character created by Hendra afterward would be the same as her current self or its another Leona. However, Leona's adventurous spirit made her not afraid of death.
Billy, Guta, and Rou glanced at each other and then nodded in agreement with Leona's opinion. Seeing that Leona smiled cheerfully and jumped up and down while clapping for joy, "HURRAY! Let's go guys" {Let's see why this poor villager suffers}.
Leona ran over to a villager that she had taken notice of for a long time. This villager only wore a cloth that covered his waist to his knees the same as the other villagers. But he has a uniqueness that the other Villager doesn't have in that his eyes are not empty, he looks at the players one by one with his jet-black eyes. Coupled with gray hair and a long white beard, this Villager looks like he has exclamation marks on his head.
Leona's quest-hunting instinct was triggered.
She greeted the old man NPC, with a simple RPG game question "Good afternoon grandpa, you seem to be having a hard time, Is there anything we can help you with?" Leona said with sparkling eyes.
The old man's eyes suddenly focused on Leona with a creepy wide smile on his face he said "Welcome to The Village of Nyi Blorong, foreigner warrior!" greetings.
"My name is Empu Sutono, I am a blacksmith in this village. My chickens are loose and have not returned home. Even though it will soon be night. If I don't have them, how can I make weapons for the foreign warriors who will fight to free us from the curse of Solve Coagula?
Can you catch my chickens?" As soon as the old man finished speaking, there was a *Ding! sound and a virtual interface appeared in front of Leona.
[You have triggered the side quest: The lost chicken.
Do you want to accept it: Yes/No]
"Accept!" Leona shouted excitedly.
[You triggered the side quest: The lost chicken.
Quest Summary: Capture at least 5 Empu Sutono's chicken.
Quest Reward: Rank Exp (aborted), Affinity with the blacksmith.
Quest Failure: Die, can't complete the mission before sunset.
*Reminder: The Rank Exp will be held until you meet The Instructor.]
"Guys! I got a side quest! I got a side quest! Look Look Look"
Leona jumped up and down while waving at the other players. She now looked more like a happy rabbit than a cat.
Seeing such a cute scene, the players' hearts melted. They seemed to be watching their daughter playing happily. They ran towards Leona and praised her as if she had done something truly extraordinary.
"Really Leona? Wow! You're really great, Leona"
"Leona, you are so smart! In the blink of an eye, you managed to get a side quest quickly"
"You are very talented, Leona! Leona is indeed a top-tier player!"
{Praise me more you pigs! Praise me more!}
"hehehe... I'm not that great" Leona said while blushing, her twitching cat ears and fluttering tail showed how happy she was right now. "Ah! Are we going to run this side quest or focus on finding The Instructor first?" Leona asked. Her tail fluttered fast wanting to finish the side quest she just got.
Her sparkling eyes looked like a child asking her papa to buy ice cream. The players couldn't resist.
"Of course, we finish this side quest first! This is a quest that Leona found must have a very valuable reward"
"That's right! Look at this grandpa. He is a blacksmith, if we have a lot of affinity with him then it will be easier for us to get strong weapons later!"
"That's right! Rank Exp must be the same as Level Exp from RPG game, the experience we get in this quest doesn't disappear but is only held until we find The Instructor"
"Yaayy!! Let us look for grandpa's chicken together!" Leona shouted excitedly.
"Let's go!!"
(Bonus Chapter (per week): 100 power stone = 1st Bonus Chapter, 300 power stone = 2nd Bonus Chapter, 700 power stone = 3rd Bonus Chapter, 1500 power stone = 4th Bonus Chapter)