Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Lockwood Forest
"Hey bro, someone's already here," one of them noticed Victor and spoke with mild surprise.
"I can see that."
Their eyes fell on him, but no information appeared in their vision—because players couldn't see each other's details unless the target allowed it.
Victor was aware of this from Raizel's memory.
Raizel had been introverted, spending his free time memorizing every basic rule of Supreme Game from the library of their college. Now, Victor was taking full advantage of that knowledge.
But Victor was certain of one thing: the two young people weren't from his college.
During the Awakening Ceremony, thousands of students from six different colleges gathered just from their city alone. And there were countless such cities across the country and the world.
As a result, each year, a massive number of new players joined the Supreme Game. And it never had any problem taking them in.
The Game was so vast and intricate that even high-level players hadn't uncovered all its secrets—at least, that's what Raizel had read in the texts.
Victor continued walking out as vigilantly as possible. He didn't want to join any team at this moment. And with unfamiliar players? Definitely not.
"Dude, wait… what's the hurry?"
As he tried to leave, the two young men blocked his path, wearing grins of superiority.
"What's wrong? Any problem?"
Victor looked straight into their eyes, unflinching. His sword was gripped tightly in his hand, showing no fear. If it came to his own life, he wouldn't hesitate to strike.
Gulp!
The two young men swallowed hard—not because of Victor's stance, but because of his appearance.
Now that they looked carefully, Victor had two unusual red irises and white hair that gave him an almost frightening presence in the dim glow of the sun.
But when the clouds drifted away, and sunlight bathed his figure—he looked handsome and healthy?
Yet both perspectives were equally intimidating.
One moment, he looked like a demon, the next—a powerful player.
They could tell from his improved physique.
At the start, Victor had once been a frail-looking young man with black hair and glasses, as ordinary as could be.
But after leveling up, his body had transformed. Even he wasn't fully aware of the extent of the changes.
"N-No-nothing. Sorry to disturb you, brother. Let's not see each other again."
As the duo suddenly scurried toward the village, with their expressions shifting in an instant, Victor was left puzzled.
He watched their disappearing backs, then touched his cheek in confusion.
"What are they so afraid of? Am I that scary?" He murmured, but there was no way to check his own face.
He knew his body had changed. But the changes on his face and hair? That was unknown to him.
Regardless, he focused on the present situation.
Where should he go next?
New players weren't allowed to leave the Game for the first three days.
That meant everyone's goal was to survive and grow stronger.
Dense forests surrounded him on all sides. The sun would be setting in a few hours—before that, he needed to find shelter for the night.
Maybe that's why those two players had headed inside Bone Village; to use it as a shelter.
But Victor would never linger anywhere near that place.
Who knew when the Dark Megus might return?
At that time, whoever was near the village would face his wrath.
Someone had wasted his long-awaited harvest—the punishment would definitely not be light.
Feeling pity for the duo players, Victor headed toward a nearby section of the forest.
A lone young man walked along a lonely path, uncaring of the dangers that lay ahead. Behind him, the sun set slowly, strength his shadow toward the unforgiving forest.
As he drew closer, the forest loomed over him, while his shadow stretched long, as if competing with the towering trees.
"Sigh… I'm starting to feel a little scared now. Can I really survive in the forest alone?"
Victor paused, gazing at the waiting darkness of the towering trees and dense foliage.
"F*ck… I have no other choice anyway. If the exit button worked, I could've returned to the real world and escaped this night. But unfortunately… that's not possible."
Resigned to his fate, Victor took his first step into the dense forest.
—
[ Lockewood Forest ]
Description: A gathering place of wild magical plants and creatures. Players are advised to maintain caution at all times.
[ Threat Level: Low–High ]
[ Resources: Herbs, Magical Plants, Basic Monsters ]
As the distant echoes of growls from animals and beasts reached Victor's ears, he twitched slightly but maintained his calm demeanor.
'High-level threat? At mid-level threat, I had to endure so much… I wonder how much pain this will bring?'
Victor pondered inwardly, all while keeping his bronze sword at the ready, prepared for any surprise attack.
In an unfamiliar forest, anything could happen at any moment.
But after walking for another fifteen minutes along a path of dry leaves and hardened ground, he had yet to encounter anything.
All this time, he had been searching for some kind of shelter—maybe a cave or a dense gathering of trees where he could set up camp for the night.
Evening would soon fall, and he didn't want to spend the night completely exposed.
[ Hunger: 60% ]
"Great, now I'm feeling hungry too. Where should I find something to eat?" Victor muttered, his stomach growling in protest.
There were berries growing on the trees, but they could either be food or poison.
And the system wouldn't tell him if they were safe or not. It only provided basic details, such as names and species.
That was why studying plants and survival knowledge in colleges was necessary for players.
Fortunately, Raizel— his predecessor— had studied them.
Thanks to that, Victor was able to recognize a harmless batch of berries.
Just as he was about to begin climbing the tree, he heard some rustling sound in the bushes.
Victor immediately became alert, gripping his sword. He instanly turned around to the source as he didn't want get ambushed once again.
From the shadows, a creature emerged—a small, wolf-like beast with glowing blue eyes and sharp fangs. It was about the size of a large dog, but its posture made it clear it was no ordinary animal.
A system notification appeared.
—
[ Feral Wolf – Level 4 ]
HP: 100/100
Threat Level: Medium