You Gotta Be Kidding Me

The journey from the mountaintop to the foot of the mountain took Roland only ten minutes. Many people were waiting for him down there with smiles of amusement. Some of them were even gesturing to show the size and shape of a certain organ on Roland, raising the audience's chuckle.

Roland's face was burning, but he pretended to be cool and passed them. He could feel their eyes on his back even though he was dozens of meters away.

It was certainly not the best experience for a beginner of the game.

If it had happened in reality, Roland would probably have to move to a different city, but since he was in a game… Embarrassing as it might be, he felt a lot more relaxed when he remembered that they were all NPCs.

However, those people's response was truly logical. As the game had claimed, every NPC was as intelligent as a real person.

Roaming the street, Roland observed the busy folk around him. Some were walking in a hurry, some were peddling their wares, and some were carrying heavy bags for other people.

All of them seemed to be ordinary people. All of them were dark-skinned and in linen clothes. Occasionally, younger women with fairer skin walked on the street.

Compared to them, Roland was actually the strangest one.

He was also wearing gray and brown linen clothes, but his skin was even fairer than that of any woman. It was obvious that he had never suffered.

Therefore, other people stared at him anywhere he went.

Ignoring people's judgmental eyes, Roland finally made it to the bridge. He had remembered the basic streets of this town when he was on the mountaintop, so he did not have to ask the way.

The stone bridge was broad and straight. On its two sides was the glittering lake. When the damp wind over the lake touched his ears, he felt like he was flying.

Roland couldn't help but gaze at the rippling lake that looked like a sapphire on top of the rail. He could see the whole lake from the mountaintop, but now that he was on the bridge, the lake seemed to be endless.

On the boats far away, the fishermen were trawling while singing songs.

From behind the bridge came three kids, two boys and a girl. They were around seven, and each of them was carrying a basket. In patched clothes, the snotty children hopped to Roland's back.

They pointed at Roland and laughed at the same time.

At this moment, Language Proficiency was not over yet, and Roland could understand them.

"Mom says that he loves being naked."

"Grandpa says that there may be something wrong with his head."

"Dad says that he was trying to seduce a woman. What is seduce?"

Roland turned around and looked at the kids helplessly.

Wow…

The kids rushed to the other end of the bridge as if they were scared of him, before they grimaced at him gloatingly.

His sightseeing mood was ruined by the kids. Roland brushed his hands together and went on. The three kids ran farther and farther away until they were nowhere to be seen.

Donkey carts crossed the bridge now and then. Roland intended to hitchhike at first, but he soon gave up the idea. After all, the things, mostly feces and other strange items, on those carts were too disgusting.

Across the bridge, Roland left the town and embarked on a village road. He could tell that the road was bumpy and ragged even though he was wearing shoes. Logically, since he was used to tarmac roads in cities, he should be exhausted after walking on such a shabby road for a while.

Yet, oddly enough, he did not feel tired after walking for almost an hour.

Perhaps it's because I'm a character in the game. Roland thought of the possibility.

As Red Mountain Town was left far behind, it was quieter and quieter. Next to the road was a forest. Roland occasionally saw donkey carts when he left the town, but now all he could hear was the blowing leaves in the powerful wind. The strange chirps of unknown birds added to the emptiness of the forest.

After Roland crossed a hill, the trees beside the road turned into maples. Nothing could be heard here except for the wind, not even bugs. Roland remembered that this was the habitat of giant spiders.

How giant were those spiders? Roland was rather curious, but he gave up the idea of visiting them. His plan was to go to a city and look for other players. Also, transportation was more convenient in the city, and it should be easier to search for intelligence or jobs. He could stay in the city until he earned enough money to go to other cities after he reached out to his friends.

It was already noon at this point. The sunlight was rather scorching. Roland sat down in the shade of a tree and decided to rest for a moment.

Hardly had he sat down when he heard the vague, distant cries of little kids.

Nobody was on the road, and the place was awfully quiet. Roland looked around and saw nothing but trees and colorful weeds.

He chuckled and thought he was hallucinating now that he was in an empty, quiet environment by himself. It must be how ghost stories originated.

Leaning against the tree, Roland fanned himself with his hand and listened to the howling wind, enjoying the peacefulness. However, he jumped up the next second and charged into the woods.

It was because he heard another scream, which was still vague but sounded familiar. Then, he remembered that it was the voice of one of the three kids who made fun of him an hour ago; specifically, the girl, because her voice was very distinct.

The three kids had been ahead of him.

Giant spiders, little kids… Was it possible?

The screams became clear soon after he rushed into the woods. It was not until he entered the woods that he noticed how dim it was below the trees. Rotten leaves were emitting stench everywhere. There were also white nets at the roots of many trees.

At this moment, the kids were crying up ahead, nearby.

Roland rushed. Unsteadily, he passed a dozen weird maples that were at least two meters in diameter, only to see the most chilling scene.

The three kids were on the branch of a tall tree, and a huge spider was knocking the tree below them. After each collision, the tree would shake for a while, and the kids on top would shrill in fear.

How big was this spider? It was at least 1.5 meters tall. Considering the length of its appendages, it was more than two meters wide.

Shoot… Roland was an ordinary person in reality after all. His legs were trembling beyond his control when he saw such an unbelievable monster unexpectedly.