Well, it didn't take time before the darkness took its rightful spot up above, and the moon in its place. In the game, darkness had been just another dark area, maybe some reduced visibility if you didn't have a torch. Here however? It felt too real and spooky. For a man who was used to his dark room, this was another level of spooky that he wasn't prepared for at all.
He made sure not to rush anything, even though he felt like rushing. After stumbling a couple times on roots and the likes, he decided to just take it easy and slow, as much as possible. That aside, running was never ideal. He didn't bring any torch after all, so the only light he had was the little sieving through the coverage from the moon. He'd been stupid not to consider it. In his planning, he'd thought about every other thing, but he hadn't thought about the simple fact that human eyes struggled in near-total darkness beneath a forest canopy.
More a few times, as he made his way about, he had to pause and reorient himself, checking his mental and game map against what he could see. Even when he was headed in the right direction, it felt like the wrong one, truly an experience. Since the game's mini map was a discovery type, he would have to have explored an area before he could have it unlocked, it was only good for the cardinal point.
While he was wasting time around a particular tree, trying to confirm if it was the one he was looking for, he heard a rustling to his left that made him freeze.
Just then, he heard a growl, and from the sound, he theorized it was a wolf, probably. Perhaps level 2 or 3, taking into account the area he was in and what he remembered from the game.
His hand drifted to his sword hilt while he looked at any branch he could jump on. Wolves never hunt alone after all. Just as he suspected, a wolf appeared, but to his surprise, it was alone.
Fortunately, after a tense moment, the wolf left, perhaps it decided he wasn't worth the trouble.
Ethan released a sigh of relief, a ting of laughter escaping his lips at the circumstance. Who would have thought that these wild beasts could advice themselves against attacking? If it were still the game, enemies didn't care who you were, they would attack. If you liked, be a player who had cleared the game and was girded up with all mythic items and equipment, they'd still rush at you will all their level 1 might.
Nevertheless, he was glad it turned out as it did. Every kill meant experience, and every experience meant levels, and he needed to stay below level 10 for as long as possible until he was done with all the related quests. There were still hidden quests and dungeons that would vanish once he crossed that threshold.
With the lone wolf gone, he continued moving forward.
The forest was mostly quiet, except for the occasional screech of some night bird.
After what felt like hours but was probably only thirty minutes or so, Ethan finally found it what brought him there. He came through a break in the trees where moonlight spilled through, illuminating a small lake.
He had found it.
The lake was maybe around a hundred feet across, its surface mirror-still and reflecting the moon above. In the game, it had been a pretty but unremarkable landmark. Most players passed by it constantly, never knowing what lay beneath. Though, a year or so later, the secret was made known, and every new player could enjoy it too.
Ethan approached the water's edge and checked his map interface. The time displayed above it read 11:47 PM, thirteen minutes until midnight.
Not wanting to stand there exposed in the open, he found a sturdy tree and climbed on it, settling himself on a thick branch about 15ft above ground.
While he waited, twice, he saw movement near the lake as animals came to drink. A deer, or at least what looked like one, came to drink, then a different animal also came. He couldn't identify it, and because of the distance, the system didn't help either. Both times, the creatures drank their fill and disappeared back into the trees.
Once it was midnight, he dropped from the tree, landing in a crouch that his old body never could have managed, while they now felt natural, even a backflip felt like part and parcel of his being.
Moving quickly now, he pulled up his inventory and began transferring his equipment into it. Sword, belt, boots, hat, gloves, shirt, trousers; everything went in, leaving him standing naked at the lake's edge. Anyone who saw him would think he was a pervert, but it was necessary. He couldn't risk taking anything physical into the water. Apart from getting them soaked, the dungeon, on entrance, had specific rules.
He readied himself, then jumped into the water, gasping as the cold water bit into his body. It was as freezing as it was still, who would believe this wasn't winter?
After familiarizing himself with it a bit, he took a deep breath and dove into the water.
The underwater world wasn't as clear as the surface since it was dark, but at least not completely black. He wasn't little time and swam as deep as he could, his eyes straining to see.
After a while, he spotted what he was looking for at the bottom, perhaps twenty feet down, as a faint white glow caught his eyes.
His lungs were already burning and he knew he wouldn't make it, so he swam back up, kicking toward the surface as he broke through with a gasp, and drew in several deep breaths.
'Alright, let's go this time.'
After catching his breath and refreshing his lungs, he took another deep breath and he dove again.
This time he kicked hard, pushing himself down faster. The white glow grew brighter as he approached, until he could make out a circular portal of white light, perhaps three feet across, embedded in the lakebed.
Ethan reached out and touched it, and instantly, the world inverted.
Suddenly he was falling—no, not falling, moving—through space that wasn't quite space, light that wasn't quite light. It lasted less than a second but felt like an entire minute.
Instantly, he was on solid ground, gasping as he shivered a bit, water streaming off his body.
He found himself in a cave with smooth stone walls that glowed with a soft, sourceless light. The portal he'd entered through was also gone.
Ethan waited a bit for the water t dry from his body, then he quickly pulled up his inventory and re-equipped everything.
The moment his clothes materialized on his body, he felt better.
He looked around, taking in his surroundings properly now. The cave was circular, about thirty feet across, with three tunnel entrances spaced evenly around the walls. Above the center tunnel, glowing letters hung in the air—
…
TRAINING INSTANCE: SWORDSMAN PATH
Time Limit: 15 Minutes
Objective: Complete All Trials