Two hours ago, to the northwest of the Central Plains. There was a magnificent mountain range here. From afar mysterious cities built from white stone could be seen built into the cliffs. Majestic towers reached towards the heavens, surrounded by multi-coloured hue birthed from the congregation of huge amounts of mana. Many people could ever only spectate this magical scenery from afar as this was the territory of high elves, who limited the access for other races.
Over the past few months, though, the players had discovered many ways to gain the favour of the high elves and receive the permission to freely move within the territory. Due to its ethereal beauty the elven domain attracted many players eager for exploration or simply wishing to relax. Of course, the easiest way to enter the territory was by creating a high elf character. The pretty race was highly popular, especially among women. And Serena was no exception.
But even when playing as high elf the players discovered that there were surprisingly many areas with restricted access. High elves had many old and powerful organizations which occupied their own area. Players first had to win their favour before they would be allowed to explore these areas. Because of that Serena struggled somewhat at first but with Liam's support all obstacles could be cleared with the flick of a finger.
Unbeknownst to most, Serena, this young girl, was one of the players who could travel through elven territory almost unimpeded. This came as a great advantage for here when the event started. While others had to assert which quest givers they could reach, Serena didn't have this worry. Thus, her points increased swiftly. Unfortunately she was a bit late to reach level 50 or she might even be able to compete with her brother.
Thanks to all the completed quests Serena had also reached level 55 although she didn't place much emphasis on this. She was more delighted watching the improvement of her profession. Even before the event she had become an intermediate chef and was now making strides towards the rank of an advanced chef.
Because of that and coupled with reading the online comments from excited players every day, Serena was quite invested in the event. She had been running from quest to quest.
However, the real fun naturally came from playing together with others. Thus, Serena always invited others to join her. She had finished quests together with people from the guild, her brother, or her friends. Now that the event was nearing its end Serena was eager to complete one more quest. Thus, she grabbed her friends as well as one of the guild's intermediate chefs and stepped into the teleporter.
A light flashed and four elves appeared. One was Serena wearing a pretty floral dress. A blue flower was placed behind her pointed ear complementing her blue eyes. Everyone could tell that her outfit was unsuited for combat.
To the left and right of Serena stood two young girls about her age. The one on the left wore a red mage robe with golden hemlines. She had long, red hair and a constant smile on her face. The girl to the right of Serena wore black multi-layers black clothes and black boots. She had short, blond hair and carried a large hammer on her back. However, despite the appearance of Serena's friends they were both not adept at fighting. Like her, they also showed more interest in professions.
Behind the three young girls stood a somewhat feisty woman wearing simple, white clothes. She was a chef recruited by Dream Avenue and had a good relationship with Serena. She often accompanied Serena on quests to make sure nothing happened. However, as Serena was accompanied by her friends right now, she would rather stay in the background and allow the three young girls to have their fun.
"Quick, quick. I need some more points. I need to win my bet!"
The girl in black clothes was the first to step off the teleportation platform, urging her friends.
"Why did you even agree to such a bet, Dark Hammer? Betting your Swords&Magic card collection was quite reckless.", asked the girl in red with the nickname Red Sparkle.
"You know how Lucy and the others are. They always provoke me. Hmpf. But this time they made a mistake! They don't know that I have the help of Serena. Thanks to her we could farm so many points. I will definitely win and then Lucy's rare 'Sword of endless ice' will belong to me!"
Dark Hammer smiled brightly at Serena, her eyes full of confidence. Under her gaze Serena even felt a bit shy as she asked:
"Is this 'Sword of endless ice' really so special?"
"You bet! The card only exists 5000 times in the entire federation. It has been designed by Muffle, the developer of Rising Gods. It is said that no one knows who Muffle really is. It's a miracle that they got him to design a card for Swords&Magic!"
"My brother loves Rising Gods! I think he once called it the best indie game he ever played. This sounds so awesome. Hm. What do you think? Should I also start playing Swords&Magic?"
Dark Hammer's eyes lit up when she heard Red Sparkle say this. She nodded vigorously.
"Of course you should play! Then we can meet up to duel and exchange cards. Actually, I have quite a few dupes. They should be enough for a few beginner decks. I can make one for both of you. Then we can play together!"
"Sounds great!"
"Yes!"
Dark Hammer got excited. She was just about to explain the various categories of decks to her friends and ask about their preferences when a gentle voice interrupted her:
"Girls, aren't you getting a bit sidetracked?"
"Oh, Riala is right. Let's go, let's go!"
Riala shook her head with a light smile as she watched the three girls. After her reminder Dark Hammer finally put her focus back on the quest. The girl in black clothes took the lead, walking ahead at a brisk pace.
Serena and her friends left the teleporter and appeared in a strange village. There were multiple small buildings around them, but none looked like a residential home. Rather they appeared like small warehouses, exceedingly simple and without windows.
However, apart from the buildings this village was outstandingly beautiful with colourful flowers and small streams of water. From time-to-time fish would jump out of the streams and birds would land between the plants, playing happily. Everywhere were benches, chairs, and tables inviting people to sit and relax. Many of them were occupied by elderly elves quietly reading books.
These elderly elves were still nimble and had bright eyes. Compared to humans who were plagued by all kinds of ailments after reaching an advanced age, the elderly elves didn't show any signs of weakness even though the youngest inhabitant of this village was at least 700 years old.
When the three girls appeared and their bell-like laughter echoed through the village the elderly elves frowned faintly. Next to the teleporter stood two guards in white. They scanned the newcomers and were almost about to throw Dark Hammer and Red Sparkle out, but when their eyes fell on Serena, they immediately showed respectful expressions. They only dared to give a gentle reminder:
"Honoured guests, please lower your voices. The Enlightened Society values its peace and serenity."
"Sorry, sorry, we will tone it down."
Serena spoke in a low voice smiling at the guards who nodded and fell silent. Dark Hammer watched everything and couldn't help but feel amazed.
"The first time I came here those two wouldn't even let me enter by a single step. You're amazing, Serena. Did you really gain the favour of an elven princess by bringing her pastries?"
"Ah, it's not me who's impressive. It's by brother! He told me about the trick with the pastries. Furthermore, aren't you also an intermediate blacksmith? That's also amazing! And Red Sparkle is even a scribe! My brother said that profession is extremely, extremely rare."
"Hehe, Serena is talking about her brother again.", chuckled Red Sparkle.
"Can you blame her? If my brother were Bleary Mirage I would also boast about it all day long."
Dark Hammer even looked somewhat envious as she said this. But at this moment the four women came close to their target. Dark Hammer's thoughts changed as she put her attention back on the upcoming quest. She jumped ahead and opened the door of one of the building's, signalling her companions to enter.
"After you!"
"Thank you."
The other three entered and Dark Hammer followed swiftly behind them. After closing the door, she looked at the scenery in front and sighed. Even after seeing it a few times she was still shocked.
The space inside the building was much bigger than outside. It was a gorgeous library. Towering bookshelves the size of six elves stood in orderly lines. Between them were a few reading desks made from the finest wood. At a certain height along the walls was an elevated path which could be reached through spiralling stairs with railings made from gold looking like leaves and birds. And yet in such an extensive library there were only three elderly elves and one younger one who sat on a chair not far from the door.