"Uh… that…"
Hades looked at the shirtless man in front of him, his solid muscles tense, eyes filled with wariness—as if he might stab him with the steel fork at any moment.
If this were an NPC, the expression would be far too vivid. Games often had an "uncanny valley" effect, and to avoid that, YGGDRASIL NPCs never had overly rich expressions.
But this man, from the strands of his hair to the subtle twitches of his muscles, looked completely lifelike in Hades's eyes, sending a chill down his spine.
"I want to ask, where is this?" Hades said. In a game, NPCs would only respond with preset lines and actions.
So, after just a couple of exchanges, Hades felt he could roughly determine his situation—whether he was in a virtual world or had somehow arrived in reality.
"Who are you!?" Emmot repeated, his tone unintentionally harsher. His eyes darted around furtively. Although it was nighttime, the surrounding terrain was flat with no place to hide, so he judged that the young man was alone.
Even so, he didn't lower his guard. He still needed to determine whether this stranger was a thief based on his answer.
"Tsk~, so it's a virtual world after all," Hades muttered in irritation when the man repeated the same question. He had already decided he would sue the manufacturer of his nano-device.
YGGDRASIL clearly could not ignore explicit legal regulations and arbitrarily activate the real-experience function meant for medical use.
So it was highly likely his current device had malfunctioned—coinciding with the game's delayed shutdown—or perhaps this was some prank related to a closed beta for a second installment. In any case, it still required further observation.
"What are you talking about?" Emmot was startled, then thrust the steel fork forward and demanded, "Answer me—who are you? Where are you from?"
"Yes, yes, yes, I'm from Midgard. So, is this Helheim? How do I leave the game now?" Hades replied, his tone slightly impatient.
He had things to do tomorrow and didn't want to waste any more time here. Saying the keyword "leave the game" would probably trigger the NPC's preset dialogue options.
NPCs followed fixed templates, and as long as players spoke certain keywords during a conversation, they could trigger pre-designed responses.
Surely the YGGDRASIL operators wouldn't openly trap players in a virtual world—that would only hurt their promotion.
Damn it, how unlucky. All he had wanted was to log in to bid farewell to his childish yet hardworking youth, and instead he'd run into equipment failure and some new game experience event organized by the developers.
But the man's next words made Hades freeze.
"Game? What is that? I don't know what you're talking about, but can you leave? You're not welcome here. If you don't go now, I'll have to be impolite!"
Emmot didn't understand the meaning of the stranger's words. To him, this young man sounded like a fool, rambling nonsense he couldn't comprehend. That didn't matter—he just needed to drive him away.
"Eh?" Hades stared blankly at the man, a bad feeling rising in his chest. This NPC's reaction was somewhat beyond his expectations.
"If you don't want trouble, then get out of here. Otherwise, I'll show you the power of my steel fork!" Emmot threatened, making two quick gestures with the fork in his hand.
Judging by his build, the stranger looked unarmed, well sculpted but not bulky, young and clearly no match for him. While he didn't seem like a thief, dealing with a fool who refused to leave was still a headache.
"Who's outside?"
Just then, a female voice came from behind Emmot. Hades saw a young girl, dressed in thin clothing, peeking out from behind the man.
She had golden hair and brown eyes, and in the faint light, her tanned skin was visible. From her appearance, she didn't seem very old.
At the moment, she was curiously staring at Hades, her eyes blinking, her expression lively.
"Why did you come out, Enri? Get back inside, quickly. This guy might be a lunatic." Emmot kept his gaze fixed on Hades while lowering his voice to his daughter.
Although Emmot had deliberately lowered his tone, in the stillness of the night even the faintest sound could be heard. Perhaps he didn't care whether the stranger heard him at all.
"Eh?" Enri looked at Hades in surprise at her father's words, timidly pulling her head back.
Hades stared blankly at the two in front of him, then suddenly slapped himself hard. The sharp sound of the slap made Emmot and Enri exchange looks of confusion.
"Not an NPC?" Hades muttered, rubbing his cheek. He had put almost all his strength into that slap, nearly bringing tears to his eyes. The pain definitely exceeded the nano-device's thirty-percent real sensation limit.
"Hey, kid, let's be clear—I don't want trouble, and I hope you won't cause any. As long as you leave here, I won't bother you," Emmot said, nudging his daughter further into the house with his body. His tone carried a clear warning.
Carne Village had no defensive structures or patrols. While it was far from the city, it was close to the Tob Forest. Because the village lay on the outskirts of the Wise King of the Forest's territory, no monsters ever came to attack.
As for bandits or thieves, they were even rarer—there was simply nothing of value here, and even criminals had to consider their costs.
So, despite appearing calm on the surface, Emmot—who had almost never encountered such a situation—was far less composed than he looked. If he had been more experienced, he wouldn't have gone out to check at all.
Seeing the man begin to retreat toward the house, Hades quickly called out, "Please wait a moment, I'm a traveler who came here from a very distant place."
"Traveler?" Emmot stopped in his tracks and asked, "Do you have anything to prove it?"
"Prove?" Hades thought for a moment before saying, "Aren't those strange words you thought were gibberish proof enough? They're greetings from my hometown."
"Hmm? Does that include slapping yourself?" Emmot asked, eyeing him with suspicion.
"Uh… that… please don't mind that. That's just my… personal habit." Hades awkwardly rubbed his nose. If even that behavior had to count as a greeting from his hometown, it would be far too bizarre.
But before Hades could say anything more, Emmot and his daughter Enri both took a step back at the same time, their eyes filled with a mix of fear and pity.
"Wait, I mean, this isn't… isn't… uh… it's not something I normally do… so… please don't misunderstand, I'm a normal person," Hades quickly explained.
As unbelievable—almost magical—as it was, that slap had convinced Hades that not even his top-tier nano-virtual device could simulate such pain.
And then there was Emmot and his daughter's behavior. Their reactions were flawless, without the slightest stiffness of NPCs. Their expressions, mannerisms, and movements were indistinguishable from those of real people.
YGGDRASIL could never have NPCs like this.
So… he had really come to reality. But… where exactly was this? It didn't seem like YGGDRASIL, and it was certainly not Earth. If places like this still existed on Earth, they would have long ago been exploited and developed by capitalists.