Absolute Destiny Game
Chapter 303 - 103 Hidden Village_2

Chapter 303: Chapter 103 Hidden Village_2

Don’t even mention waves of pine sounds like the sea; there aren’t even that many trees.

Huh, it seems like there are pine trees ahead.

After winding around a perilous peak, a pine forest suddenly appeared. It started sparse, but quickly became dense, stretching to the horizon, with the deep forest revealing jagged mountains.

Xiao Jie rushed to a hilltop and gazed into the distance. The mountains stretched for hundreds of miles, each peak more treacherous than the last. Among those mountains, there was one with a strange shape, like a giant beast from ancient times crouching among the ridges.

"Found it! It’s right here!" Xiao Jie felt a surge of excitement. He didn’t expect to find it so easily. One should know that the tasks in this game come with no coordinates; it’s entirely up to the understanding of the task text to find it. And with such a huge map, finding the exact location is no small feat.

Previously, he had learned about this mountain range in the northwest direction from the intelligence department of the Dragon Soaring Knights.

Yet, he didn’t expect to find it so quickly.

Could this be what they call a stroke of Immortal Fate?

He looked down into the sea of pines below, trying to find an easy path to Konglao Mountain, but all he saw was the endless Pine Forest. From the mountain, it was fine, but once inside the forest, pine trees surrounded you from all sides, and even the sunlight was scarce. Under such conditions, it was very easy to get lost.

Therefore, it was essential to determine a route first.

And while searching, he faintly saw a wisp of blue smoke rising from the Pine Forest.

Huh, could that be—Xiao Jie leaned closer to the screen, observing carefully and saw the rooftops of some thatched cottages in the Pine Forest. It appeared to be a small village.

Xiao Jie immediately felt a bit cheerful—running around the map, the biggest fear is not having landmark buildings as anchors, or else it’s very easy to get lost.

With this village, things would be much easier, and he might even be able to inquire about some information from the NPCs in the village.

Why not go and inquire for some information first? He then sped down the slope of the hill.

Not long after, the view around him gradually darkened.

Xiao Jie wasn’t sure about his direction, he just ran towards the approximate northwest direction in a Frenzy. Due to the uneven terrain, he occasionally had to detour. Although he thought he might stray off course, after running for over ten minutes, the Pine Forest suddenly cleared, revealing a large clearing.

In that Pine Forest, a small village was situated.

The village was particularly small, with only a dozen or so simple wooden houses.

Xiao Jie dared not rush over carelessly, as most villages in this game are strongholds for Monsters. The closer he got, the more anxious he became.

Fortunately, as he got closer, he found no trace of monsters.

However, this little village was clearly not a Newbie Village with system protection but one of the common dilapidated villages found in the game.

Most of the buildings were crumbling, only the thatched cottage in the center of the village seemed intact. An old man was outside, drying many mushrooms and pine nuts, seemingly oblivious to the sound of hooves.

Xiao Jie looked up at the old man.

Mysterious Elder (Hidden Village Chief), Level 28. Life Value 1200.

Damn, as expected of a high-level map, even a small village chief has such a high level.

When Xiao Jie saw the old man’s name, he immediately perked up and dismounted from a distance.

"Excuse me, elder, is that mountain ahead Konglao Mountain?"

The old man turned around sharply, looking at Xiao Jie with a surprised face.

"You—you—you!"

"What’s the matter with me?"

"Where did you come from? Did you just run in from outside the forest?"

"Yes, what’s the problem?" Xiao Jie wondered; this NPC seemed to be acting crazy.

"Hahaha...huhuhu...hehehe." The old man first laughed loudly, then broke into sobs.

Afterwards, he laughed again, but this time it was a bitter laugh, leaving Xiao Jie utterly baffled.

"Konglao Mountain? Exactly, exactly, the mountain up ahead is Konglao Mountain, and this is the Mysterious Forest. To reach Konglao Mountain, one must pass through this Mysterious Forest. You must have come for the Immortal’s treasure, hehehe, to think that after so many decades, someone has managed to find this place."

Xiao Jie felt slightly excited upon hearing this, he had indeed found the right place. However, the old man’s words carried a hidden meaning.

"Is it only you living in this village, old man?"

"Hahaha, isn’t it just me? Decades have passed, and the others have long since died. I haven’t spoken to anyone in years, but thankfully, now that you’ve arrived, I can finally have someone to talk to."

Xiao Jie was stunned upon hearing this and had a vague feeling that there was something wrong.

However, the old man just kept talking to himself.

"Legend has it that an Immortal lived on that mountain in ancient times, but in my opinion, it’s all nonsense. There is no Immortal; if there were, it would just be a demon."

"Why does the old man say so?"

"There’s something eerie about that mountain, young brother. I advise you, it’s better not to rush in recklessly."

Xiao Jie became even more certain that place was indeed where the Immortal had spoken of. It was three o’clock in the afternoon. After some thought, he decided to heed the advice; it could be dangerous if it got too late.

"I wonder if I could stay at your place for the night? A little Silver Tael can’t express my gratitude."

"What use is silver in this remote and desolate place? Now, if you have food and drink, that would be splendid."

Xiao Jie had plenty of supplies but not much else. For this expedition, he was thoroughly prepared with all sorts of food, drinks, potions, and talismans, having spent all his money.

Intent on drawing out more information, Xiao Jie started gifting items to raise favorability.

He first gifted ten steamed buns, followed by two roast chickens, a strip of smoked meat, and a pot of fine wine.

While gifting, Xiao Jie checked the Favorability, and only stopped when it no longer increased past 80.

He had a feeling that this Mysterious Elder was definitely a key NPC.

"My, my, you’ve given me so much, all for me? How could I accept all this?" The old man said modestly, but he picked up the wine pot and chugged it down greedily.

"Hahaha, what fine wine, what fine wine, uuuh, I’ve finally tasted this long-lost flavor again." The old man cried bitterly, as if he had a world of grievances.

Xiao Jie watched, puzzled. "Old sir, do you have something you want to tell me?"

"Of course, lots and lots of things. But there’s no rush; we’ll have plenty of time to talk later on. Ah, it’s getting dark; come, come, let’s go inside to talk."

As the sky grew darker, Xiao Jie didn’t log out. Some storylines might only trigger at night.

Moreover, he was not afraid of Night Ghosts now. With the Asura Ghost Mask’s Ghost Eye to see ghosts and the Xuanming Sword to slay spirits, encountering Night Ghosts was no longer a cause for fear; rather, it presented an opportunity to chop them down and level up.

He followed the old man into a thatched hut, feeling increasingly that something was amiss.

This forest was very unusual; there were no monsters.

That would be no issue in the real world, but in a game, the lack of monsters was abnormal.

The old man’s behavior was even more problematic. Could it be that he had already entered the mission map?

Game designers, to prevent interference between different missions, often design the mission maps to be very ’clean,’ containing only elements related to the mission.

But this place was still more than ten miles away from the mountain. Could the mission map be so vast?

While talking, the two had entered the hut.

The old man lit a pine oil lamp, and Xiao Jie, looking at the furnishings in the house, felt more and more that something was wrong. Everything was extremely simple; tables and chairs were made of raw logs, and there were no pots or pans in sight, only wooden bowls and dishes.

"Old man, your life seems really tough, why not leave?"

"Hehe, leave? If I could leave, do you think I wouldn’t have gone? Once you enter this forest, you can never leave. Look closely; when I die, all these things will be yours."

Xiao Jie was taken aback but then listened as the old man told an astonishing story.