All the players fell silent and the atmosphere became awkward. Billy, who saw Leona's blushing face, tried to resolve the awkwardness by clearing his throat as loudly as possible "Hmm.. Hmm.. Hmm..! Cough.. Cough!!" he nearly crushed his throat from the stunt.
But as a result of his sacrifice, the other male players shifted their gazes from their virtual interface and looked at Billy with narrowed eyes. Billy returned their gazes with a glare then his eyes moved to Leona. The other players followed Billy's gaze and Leona's downcast red face appeared in their vision.
Suddenly Guta and Rou understood what had happened.
"What the hell is this game?! Isn't this too pornographic? What if a child wants to play the game?!!" Guta shouted with all his might.
"Really! What the hell is this [Minimum Clothes Setting]? Is there a madman who wants to dress naked?!" Rou nodded as he spoke loudly like a chicken pecking rice.
"Hm.. We shouldn't discuss the options in the settings. We just need to lower the [Pain Receptor] and increase the [Blood Filter] so that the game won't be too scary. The other setting options aren't that useful... hmm... maybe [Basic Language] is also useful" Billy shifted the conversation to more important things and avoided some things that could be 'researched' later.
Leona who just looked down with a flushed face now lifted her head and listened enthusiastically. Her eyes lit up again and she also joined the discussion with the other players.
"Ah, you're right.. But what does it do? Does it change the language in the virtual interface?" asked Rou.
"I don't think it's that simple.. hmm.. Leona, what do you think?" Guta threw a question at Leona.
"I was also confused when I first saw it because there was no information other than the language selection box. However, after changing it to another language, I understood its use. This is to translate the language we use into a language that our listeners understand. Like when I'm using Indonesian [Basic Language], but when I speak, you understand what I'm saying right?" Leona asked.
"Ah.. you're right! I heard you speak Spanish" said Rou.
"Wow.. it turns out this is a translator, this way everyone in the world can communicate with each other in their own language. If so, won't this game only use one server for the whole world?" Guta holds his chin.
Billy's eyes opened wide "You're right Guta! If that's the case then the whole world will be united in one server! Wow! How big is this island that it can accommodate all the players who will arrive later when the official version is launched?" Billy also thought about how much data Doodle need to save.
"Guys, we should talk while walking. I don't want to linger in this place " said Rou while glancing at the puddle in front of them.
The other players nodded and walked back to the main street. They followed the direction indicated by Empu Sutono. Even though he's scary, Empu Sutono was still an NPC so he wouldn't openly lie to the players, right?
But another strange thing they talked about as they walked was the severity of the consequences when attacking NPCs. The players did not understand why the developers had to use such heavy sanctions. All this time they saw NPCs as a collection of heartless and lifeless data so that even if they killed NPCs, they(the NPC) would usually come back to life and return to the same place.
Or if the developer feels that the NPCs are just decorations, then they shouldn't be able to attack them like walls, tables, mattresses, or other indestructible furniture in the game. However, by giving sanctions up to a limit of three times, it shows that the developer in addition to strictly prohibiting it also provides an opportunity for players to attack NPCs.
They continued to chat and tried to distract themselves from the eerie atmosphere of the village and its inhabitants who stared at them without blinking with big smiles on their faces. The more they walked towards the south, the more they saw the houses were getting fewer and fewer.
When they arrived at the intersection they met with other players. There had been mutual vigilance and suspicion between them because this was an MMORPG game and player killers were a popular job.
Of course, this made sense because humans were violent creatures but in a society that is limited by morals, they can't let go of their inner beasts.
However, the same thing would not happen in a game where the consequences of death were removed, so humans could kill each other without feeling guilty for the loss of one's life.
The tense atmosphere between them didn't last long, of course because there was a cute goddess in their midst. Like an angel descending from the sky who brought peace to two warring barbarians, Leona quickly made the two groups close. Until they could comfortably share their experiences.
The party who had just joined them shared their experience when helping an NPC boy who wanted to pick fruit from a tree. As they approached the tree they entered a field called 'Rambutan Field'.
There were several monsters that could give them Weapon Affinity Exp in the field, namely caterpillars, bats, weaver ants, and sparrows. However, what they found on the tree was a group of wraiths named Kuntilanak. The players were killed one by one, and although the Kuntilanak Wraith's movements were very slow, the players' attacks always passed through their translucent bodies.
Leona and the others also shared their experiences with the Chicken Basilisk. After the exchange of information, they all fell silent. The difficulty level of playing Percha Island Online increases as their knowledge increases about what monsters live in this starting village.
It wasn't long before they found a wall as high as an adult's head. This wall was made of stone and mud glued together. In the middle of the wall, there was an open gate. The amount of dust collected in front of the gate showed that the gate had not been used by its occupants for a long time.
However, when they looked around, there were no houses built near the wall. They seemed to distance themselves from whatever was behind the wall or they were glorifying whatever was behind the wall.
The vigilance of the players increased greatly. They were no longer newbies who thought Percha Island Online was the same as other RPG games. This game was so real that it was more accurate to call it a horror game than an adventure game.
They walked slowly towards the open gate. They glanced left and right to make sure there were no traps or scary monsters that would suddenly attack them.
But all their vigilance disappeared after seeing what was behind the gate.
A Mansion.
Almost all parts of the mansion were made of teak wood that was brownish yellow. The wood looked old but there were not the slightest signs of termites or other wood-eating insects that could make a home in it. This showed that the mason who made the house had a special method or material to easily make weathered wood that lasts for decades.
The mansion consisted of many pillars that were very sturdy, but the four main pillars that stood in front of the house and supported the heavy roof appeared to be larger than the others. Besides the main pillars, there was a staircase going up to the main room, so it was the same as the house in the village. The mansion also didn't have a floor that was in contact with the ground.
The roof of the mansion was not made of palm fiber but it was made of processed pottery made of clay which is then burned to create a hard texture with a natural red color. The roof is conical in the middle and consists of three levels and one ridge.
The walls of the mansion had beautiful carvings shaped like symbols of something. Like a curved leaf-shaped carving with a beautiful fan in the middle. The uniqueness and beauty of the carving displayed the hard work and care of the carvers who made it.
(A/N: check Para Comment to see the image that underlies the shape of the mansion.)
Beside the main door of the house was a statue of a beautiful woman who seemed to be looking straight at them. This statue was truly life-like but its body was covered in dust and vines which made the players unable to clearly see the face of the female statue.
The players seemed to hear a faint voice asking them to come closer. And strangely the voice sounded like it was coming from inside the statue.
The players knew that this is one of the plots in Percha Island Online. Like an MC with a cheat, who accidentally stumbled upon a statue of a talking woman. However, the player's viewed it, they felt like they were the MCs who would soon get a new cheat.
However, their memories of the scary Fields almost traumatized them and this made them very careful with their actions when they played the game. The players swallowed their saliva hard and walked slowly toward the female statue.
Until they reached arm's length from it, but nothing happened. They knew they had to do something to get a reaction from the statue.
Leona convinced herself and touched the statue of the woman with her palm. But nothing happened which made Leona breathe a sigh of relief but it was only for a short while. The fish scale inside Leona's body suddenly vibrated and emitted a green light that flowed into the statue's body.
Seeing that nothing happened, the other players also gathered their courage and touched the female statue. When all their palms touched the statue of the woman the thing they feared happened.
Like an earthquake, the female statue shook violently, and cracks appeared everywhere on the statue. Leona and the other players tried to get their hands off the female statue's body. But unluckily for them, they were once again pranked by the game, their palms were glued to the statue and couldn't be separated.
In the end, the cracks filled the body of the female statue and the creature that had been inside it was released. That's when all the virtual interfaces of the players who were still on the island lit up.
[Congratulations! You have found The Instructor, Nyimas Dewi Anggatri! Please meet her soon and get your Tutorial Quest!
*Reminder: Please watch your attitude because The Instructor has an explosive temper.]
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