THE GAMEKEEPER'S REWARD

"THERE'S no need for thanks.  Anyone in my position would surely do the same," Luo Yan said.  Since the Gamekeeper said that he should talk to the Gatekeeper so he could get his reward, then talk.

The Gatekeeper stood up and wiped away the tears staining his face.  "No, no.  Our family owe you a life-saving grace.  It's not enough to just say thanks.  To show my gratitude, please, accept this small gift."

The Gatekeeper then took out a black stone the size of an adult fist.  Its surface was so black that it felt like darkness would bleed out of it.   Luo Yan simply couldn't take his gaze off of it.  Because he knew there was something special about this stone.

"This is something that was passed down in my family from generations to generations.  It's a kind of metal found in the Shadowlands."  Shadowlands?  Was that a new dungeon added to the game after it went VR?   "Although the size is small, this could still be forged into a weapon.  The resulting weapon would automatically have the characteristic of 'shadow' which is very favorable to our race.  I hope this could help you in your journey ahead."

Luo Yan's eyes immediately brightened when he heard that.  Although he already had a plan where he should get materials in order to forge his own weapon, this black stone was definitely going to be very useful for him.  

According to the introduction the Elder made about the race of moon elves, about their affinity to shadows, he was quite certain that the Unique Skill he would eventually get would definitely have something to do with 'shadow'.  So having a weapon that also had the element of shadow would no doubt be very helpful to him.

Luo Yan didn't hesitate to accept the black stone.  "Thank you, Gatekeeper."

He put it in his Items Tab and check its information.

Umbra

- A rare metal that could be found in the mountainous region of the Shadowlands.  It could be forged into a high class weapon depending on the materials added to it and also the skill of the Blacksmith.  No matter the materials involved, the resulting weapon would always have a shadow element in it.

Luo Yan smiled happily.  This was really a good material.  Now he's real glad that he managed to find this hidden event task.  With this, along with the items he got when he finished the task given by the Elder, he realized that he managed to get a pretty big haul in this Origin Village.  

Now, he's really to leave and go to Olkdale Town.

Then he suddenly remembered the infamous dragon sleeping in the Silent Marsh.  Should he go and check it again before he leave here?

When he was playing the PC version, there was a teleportation portal at Olkdale Town that allowed players to go back to their respective Origin Village. The same way that there was also a teleportation portal in every Origin Village that's connected to the said town.  A player could only go to his own Origin Village and not to others.  

If that was still the case in this VR version, then Luo Yan could still go back here anytime he wanted.  He still felt that it was.  Because there's really no reason to remove that feature.  Especially since going VR was a huge upgrade rather than a downgrade.

So, should he go back to the Silent Marsh and see the sleeping dragon? Or should he just wait until he's strong enough that it wouldn't matter even if he accidentaly woke up the dragon?  But then, he had the Invisibility Cloak.  So the chances of him waking up the dragon was probably very slim.  At the end, he still decided to go just to satisfy his curiosity.

But then he saw the time on his Status Window.  It was already time for dinner.  He just decided to go there later after dinner.  Then tomorrow, he would leave the village.

----------

Luo Jin took off the VR helmet.  He wanted to play more but then he remembered that he didn't have breakfast together with his family earlier because he played too much last night that he stayed awake past midnight.  The result?  He only managed to wake up near noon.

He probably got too excited.  Once he got the hang of his game avatar, killing those monsters became a bit easier.  While doing his first task and killing monsters along the way, he realized just how good of a stress reliever it was.  In this game, he could be as violent as he could be.  And because it was VR, it felt real.  Like he was doing all that fighting in real life.  Before he knew it, he was already having fun.  Maybe a bit too much fun.

When he first played the game, he never thought that he would like it.  He was just in it to accompany his second older brother.  But after five days of playing, he hadn't even thought of Luo Yan and was just simply enjoying himself.  Now, he truly wanted to be good at it.  Despite the annoying race he got.  

He went out of his room and while climbing down the stairs, he saw Luo Yan walking to the dining room.  His brother happened to also look at his direction.  When Luo Yan saw him, a bright smile immediately crossed his lips, making his already pretty face even prettier.

There were only more than a little over a month before the next school term arrived.  Luo Jin had no doubt that his brother would be able to pass his school's exam and jump directly to the third year.  What he's worried about was Luo Yan attracting unsavory attention from boys.  Yes, boys.  Because, as much as he hated to admit it, his brother just had that kind of face.  A face that could attract men no matter their sexuality.  

Luo Jin frowned.  No matter.  He'd just have to protect him.  If he encountered anyone who had that kind of thought towards his brother, he'd definitely beat the crap out of them.

"Don't smile like that when you're outside the house," he said when he reached Luo Yan's side.

Luo Yan raised his brow, wondered why Luo Jin suddenly said that.  "Why?  Does Ah Jin think I look bad when I smile?" he asked, acting poor and agrieved.

"No!  Don't ask too much and just do it."

"But I want to know why.  Or maybe you really think I look bad that's why you don't want to say it," Luo Yan said, making himself appear more pitiful.

Luo Jin suddenly felt a headache.  He really couldn't stand his brother looking like this.  "It's because you look too good, okay?  You'll attract pests one after another."

Luo Yan was amused by Luo Jin's explanation.  He then hugged his brother's arm and looked up at him.  "But Ah Jin will definitely protect me, right?"

Luo Jin thrust his chest out in a proud manner.  "Of course I will."

Luo Yan just smiled and led his brother to the dining room.  While waiting for their father and older brother, the two just talked about Arcadia.