"Second floor. Display your work, engrave the Moonstone. Next!"
Arriving on the second floor.
"Place your hand on the crystal orb."
The speaker was an elderly elf.
Alto obediently complied.
He placed his hand on the crystal orb; this was the method for engraving Moonstones.
To transmit his dream world to others, he needed a medium.
The Moonstone functioned like a game disc or cartridge from his previous life.
Its purpose was to inscribe your dream world's rules into someone else's dreamscape.
Of course, there were other methods too, like temporary experiences in the Dream Corridor, or face-to-face direct connections from masters (like Bluetooth, so to speak), and so on.
But Moonstones were the most convenient and best suited for mass distribution.
Alto steadied himself, concentrated, and began communicating with his dream world.
The crystal orb lit up, wisps of magical power swirling around it, and the miniature world of Plants vs Zombies began to manifest.
The old elf glanced at it. Plants vs Zombies.
Plants, he recognized those. Zombies, similar to undead magic's walking corpses, he understood that too.
But together? He was somewhat baffled. What kind of bizarre theme was this?
Had some new trend he wasn't aware of started recently?
Even after seeing so many different works, this peculiar thing definitely was a first for him.
However, without actually experiencing it and just finding it slightly odd, he didn't pay it much attention for now.
Everything settled.
Now he just had to wait for tomorrow's official competition.
Walking out of the plaza and seeing the bustling streets, Alto felt relaxed.
Now he could properly experience the culture of this other world.
He wandered aimlessly through the streets.
Poetic city architecture, towering statues, and stone houses carved with exquisite patterns, even magical carriages passing by, Alto marveled at it all.
This was the Upper District after all, naturally far more prosperous than the Lower District.
The dazzling array of shops lining the streets was overwhelming.
He found a magic item shop called the Moonlight Boutique and walked in.
Inside the magic item shop were all sorts of Moonstones displayed, with the current most popular works arranged on the shelves.
Depending on the size of the dream world, moonstones of different quality were needed. Master works in particular were universally expensive; 288, 368 Baileys were common.
Smaller ones were much cheaper, ranging from a dozen to several dozen Baileys.
He just did a quick browse inside to get a sense of general pricing, then left directly.
By the time he got home, the sky was already darkening.
Aisha hadn't returned yet.
Every year during the Flower Dance Festival, even the busiest workers got time off to celebrate, but the Ranger Corps was part of Lunaria's armed forces, so these days were naturally exceptionally busy for them.
Normally, his sister lived in the barracks, only coming home for a few days during her rotation leave.
Passing an intersection, he was almost home.
A man and woman appeared, looking like the guy was about to walk the girl home.
"Darling, I'm home now. You should head back."
Then she glanced over, saw Alto appear, and immediately showed a disgusted expression.
"It's it you again? Are you stalking me or something?!"
Alto was dumbfounded.
'No, lady, who even are you?'
Looking at her pale purple skin and paper-thin figure, she seemed vaguely familiar. Then it suddenly hit him, wasn't this Alto's crush?
He looked up and down at this utterly plain female elf.
Skinny as a rail, strange purple markings on her face, and upon closer inspection, lots of freckles too. Her hair was even greenish, completely not his type.
The guy was no prize either. Young but already sporting a beer belly, with thinning hair.
Who said all elves were handsome men and beautiful women? Facts proved that even among elves, there were distinctions between beautiful and ugly.
The empire had many elven ethnic groups.
Common ones included Moon Elves, Sun Elves, Wood Elves, Dark Elves, Snow Elves, and so on.
Among them, Sun and Moon Elves had skin similar to humans, just smoother and clearer. Aside from their ears, they varied in height and were built just like humans.
Other groups each had their own characteristics.
"Alto, didn't I already tell you not to bother me anymore?"
"I only see you as an ordinary friend. Why can't you understand that?"
Her face was full of pride.
"You're definitely trying to ask me to the Flower Dance Festival tomorrow, right?!"
"Well, as you can see, I already have plans. You should stop wasting your energy. The two of us are not gonna get together!"
Good grief, now she's saying "ordinary friend," but when she was accepting gifts before, her hands weren't shy at all!
"Kid, looks like we didn't beat you hard enough last time, huh?"
"Let me tell you, stay away from Mia from now on, or you'll seriously regret it."
The pudgy elf glared viciously at Alto.
If this weren't a date without his bodyguards around, he'd definitely beat the shit out of him.
As the son of the Rodan Trading Company's president, he was a notorious spoiled brat in the Lower District neighborhood.
"Oh my! Darling, don't get angry. Don't stoop to this lapdog's level. I have nothing with him, you know."
"He's just being delusional and overthinking everything."
"How could I possibly be interested in someone like him who has absolutely nothing going for him?!"
Alto watched the melodramatic scene unfold before him.
Completely speechless. Tho these clichéd plots were common in TV dramas from his previous life, he never expected to encounter one today.
All he wanted in this world was to live peacefully as a wealthy tycoon.
"Monopoly!"
A keyword triggered. That game would work great, too. He'd make it when he had time.
Getting off track.
Looking at this pair of scumbags before him, Alto's expression was completely blank. This kind of thing felt like children playing house to him. He had zero interest in the whole face-slapping-revenge cliché.
"That it?"
"If you're done babbling, can you clear the way? You're blocking my path home, thanks!"
Mia, mid-speech, was completely startled.
"What's going on? Did this lapdog have a change in personality? That's not how the script is supposed to go!"
"Isn't he supposed to beg me desperately to reconsider, so I can reject him?", she thought inwardly.
"Kid, watch your tone. I'm being generous here."
The pudgy elf, seeing Alto actually dared to ignore him, instantly felt his pride challenged.
"You know who my father is?"
"Believe it or not, I can make sure you can't survive around here in a heartbeat."
When it came to talking shit and flaunting around, he was an expert.
As a rich kid, he naturally never lacked women. It's just that this woman, before him, was a Wood Elf, which was quite rare in Lunaria, perfectly satisfying his preferences.
Alto's temper flared up. Rejecting my courtesy, are we?
He'd never been the type to be scared easily. His way of living was: treat me with respect, and I'll return it tenfold.
But if you try to bully me? I'll fight you to the bitter end.
He walked coldly up to the pudgy elf, staring him dead in the eyes.
"I'll say it one more time. Move. Aside!"
Seeing Alto, a head taller than him, lean in close with that icy expression nearly touching his face, the pudgy elf unconsciously swallowed.
He was used to flaunting around when he had subordinates backing him up. This situation was a first.
Instantly, he chickened out. If they actually fought, his soft, flabby body would get beaten to death.
Unconsciously, he cleared the way.
Alto walked past without looking back.
What absolute bullshit. His good mood was completely ruined.
Behind him, the two ground their teeth, glaring daggers at his back.