Chapter One: A New Journey

  A strong wind blew through the canyon, stirring up waves on the prairie.

  A wild ox, bent down to eat the tender grass leaves, raised its head and looked up at the sky. There, a tens of meters long wooden merchant ship was floating in the air, with its sails fully set, slowly moving forward under the blowing wind.

  "Whatever time you look at it, this trend is so magnificent."

  A middle-aged man wearing a leather jacket stands beside the deck, looking down at this endless grassland and beautiful scenery.

  "This is also a rare business opportunity for us businessmen."

  Standing next to the middle-aged man was a slightly plump businessman, who had a peculiar curly hair, wearing a long robe of a merchant. His two small eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were calculating something, gazing at the scenery in front of him. From his appearance, it seemed that even this beautiful view could be taken away to make money.

  "If it weren't for this, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to transport goods to the central region so quickly. To be honest, when I first planned to open up this market, I was opposed by others, but now it seems that my choice was indeed correct."

  "But, forgive me for speaking bluntly, you didn't choose the main route, instead taking this path, although it will save time, but the danger level will also increase. I heard that recently there have been disturbances on the other side too. Moreover, I think you've also been reminded by the captain that there seem to be wind snakes appearing around here lately, what if..."

  The man's complexion turned somewhat solemn, he turned his head and cast his gaze towards the distant mountain range. The towering peaks that pierced the clouds blocked his line of sight, making it impossible to see what lay beyond. However, faintly visible in the far-off sky was not a pure azure blue, but rather a hue tinged with a somber darkness.

  That's not a world they should be involved in.

  "Don't worry, what's the worst that could happen? Fortune favors the brave, that's why I paid you big bucks! It's just a few snakes, isn't it?"

  The merchant stretched out his hand and patted the man's shoulder.

  "By the way, how's that young man we rescued doing now? He hasn't died yet, has he?"

  "Lijie has already bandaged his wound and now he is in a coma, so there shouldn't be any danger to his life."

  "That's good."

  Upon hearing the man's response, the merchant nodded in satisfaction, but soon furrowed his brow.

  "But what on earth was the young man wounded with, from the look of that wound it looks like a giant lizard - but do such strange things exist in the north of Paphield?"

  "I'm not sure either, but I think it should be a very ferocious beast, hopefully we won't run into it."

  As he spoke, the man subconsciously glanced at the entrance of the cabin, then turned his head back to look forward.

  Luo De opened his eyes.

  What happened?

  He stared blankly at the ceiling in front of him, his mind dull and confused. He remembered that he was previously on the ruins high platform leading the team to fight against the strongest BOSS in the Dragon Soul Continent, Void Dragon, and successfully obtained

  After the first kill, he confirmed that he had achieved achievement and system prompts, and then the final blow of the Void Dragon also took his life. Originally, according to the original plan, Luo De should have revived in the graveyard and logged off. However,

  At the moment he was killed by the Void Dragon, the entire world suddenly turned pitch black, as if it had been forcibly isolated. Then, Rod lost consciousness.

  How is this possible? Is there something wrong with the game?

  Rod barely turned his head, and from the window he could see the blue sky and white clouds outside. Where was he? What kind of place was this? What had happened? Was he still dreaming? Or was he still in the game? At least Rod could

  It was definitely not his cramped rental apartment. As he thought about it, doubts flooded into Luo De's mind, and he furrowed his brow, trying to sit up.

  "Waaaah!!!!"

  Just then, a sharp pain suddenly came from Rode's chest. He gritted his teeth and stopped moving. It was only then that Rode discovered that his left shoulder and chest were completely wrapped in bandages. Although he didn't know what had happened, the bloodstains seeping through the bandages made it clear that he was seriously injured.

  This is absolutely no game!

  Roderick can attest to this, knowing that although technology has advanced significantly now, and as the world's first virtual reality online game, Dragon Soul Continent also uses a lot of high-tech technologies. However, according to the rules, players are not allowed

  The ability to feel pain is there to help people distinguish between reality and the game, while also considering reducing player frustration. When a player is injured, instead of feeling pain, the game uses reduced player movement speed as a representation of danger.

  Sudden redness to block the line of sight and a series of methods used to interfere with the player's normal gameplay for warning and reminder, rather than truly simulating pain. This behavior has caused controversy in society since the emergence of holographic simulation technology.

  In the midst of great controversy, it is impossible for the operating company of Long Soul Continent to be unaware of this.

  Rod lowered his head, staring at his own right hand. It wasn't the character he had created in the game, not that muscular and wild body. On the contrary, the arm in front of him was slender and weak, with a sickly pale skin due to years of lack of sunlight. This was his real body, and he knew it all too well.

  But how did I get hurt? And this doesn't seem like a hospital either? Rod raised his head and looked around, the entire room seemed to be a cabin, without lights, phone, or even an intercom. A wooden table, two chairs, and a cabinet fixed on the wall were all that was in here. For some reason, Rod felt like he had seen this scene somewhere before.

  Just as Roder was carefully examining the room, the door suddenly opened.

  A blonde girl in a white robe walked into the room, looking at Rod who was half-sitting up with some surprise and wide eyes.

  "You're awake? That's great!!"

  The girl's words were neither Chinese nor English, but Rode could clearly understand what she was saying. This made Rode somewhat surprised, he knew this language.

  This is Nium language, one of the official languages of Long Soul Continent!

  "How are you feeling? Are you okay?"

  However, the girl didn't mind Rode's expression. She quickly walked to Rode's side and carefully examined his left shoulder and chest.

  "Your injury is quite serious, to be honest, I'm a bit worried that you might not make it..."

  "This is......"

  Luo De furrowed his brow, but didn't know what to say. He turned his head and gazed at the mirror on the wall beside him, where his face was clearly reflected. That was indeed his face, no mistake about it, but it shouldn't be appearing here, should it?

  "Have you forgotten?"

  The blonde girl blinked her eyes in some confusion, and the ponytails on both sides of her head also swayed slightly with her movement. Her bright blue eyes were clear and transparent, giving off a lively feeling.

  "Two days ago, you fell in the Paphield Plains and suffered quite serious injuries. If it weren't for a cargo ship of the 'Silver Sky' merchant guild passing by, things might have been much worse. I really don't know what kind of battle you were engaged in, but your left side was badly hurt at that time, it was truly extremely dangerous."

  Wait, left shoulder?

  Luo De was taken aback, and he immediately remembered that in his last battle with the Void Dragon, wasn't it his left side that had been attacked? But that was just his in-game character getting hurt, which shouldn't have anything to do with the player himself, right? Yet now, it was actually him who was injured?

  Although the situation in front of him was chaotic, Luo De quickly calmed down. This was the mental quality he possessed as a top player and the president of the world's strongest online gaming guild. And with this golden-haired girl in front of him...

  In the conversation, Rod also learned about his current situation. He was seriously injured and fell on the Paphield Plain, while the silver sky canopy of the merchant association happened to pass by and rescued him. According to the blonde girl's words,

  Rod's situation was initially quite bleak, but his recovery ability was pretty good.

  "My name is Lijie Noailu, a member of the Star Moon Mercenary Group, a spirit master, just call me Lijie."

  The young lady introduced herself to Rode with great poise and confidence.

  "My name is Roderick Elland."

  Although he had no way of sorting out the situation in front of him, Rodeo hesitated for a moment before reporting his identity and ID in the game.

  "From the eastern mountains, he is an adventurer."

  "Adventurer, I see, so that's why you're all alone in such a remote deep mountain."

  Lilith didn't feel surprised at Rod's answer, because on this continent, there were many adventurers who liked to explore alone, so the identity reported by Rod wasn't a big problem.

  "But what exactly are you fighting against? Why did you get hurt so badly? I remember that in this plain area, there shouldn't be any particularly scary monsters, right?"

  When the girl asked, Rode smiled somewhat awkwardly. What could he say? Should he tell Liche that he was injured while fighting against the Void Dragon, one of the Five Dragons known as the Creators?

  "Because I was attacked at night, so I didn't see clearly what the other party was. There were many of them and they were fast. I think, maybe it's something from 'that side'."

  "I understand."

  Although Rude didn't elaborate, Lidge seemed to understand something and nodded, then carefully examined Rude's wound before standing up.

  "You haven't eaten for two days, you must be very hungry. Please wait a moment, I'll go get some food right away. Ah, yes, I also need to report this to the team leader, I think he will come see you soon."

  After finishing her speech, the girl politely nodded slightly towards Rode and then turned around and walked out of the room.