Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

——Deep blue.

But it was not the clear sky above, but its azure color, the container above the earth.

The sea.

Jiandui Lulu was shocked, gasping for air at the cool air emanating from Miss World Tree. "Is our original continent actually such a small island?"

"Not small anymore." Yu Man answered casually.

She has remained silent until now, but she has already accomplished everything, all thanks to the clear skills granted by the ear clip.

As mentioned before, players of this game will actively collect world maps, and the dual conditions of the top of the World Tree and the enhanced vision allow players to immediately draw a map of the surrounding terrain.

Although, the enchanter can't do this job, but——

"boss."

"Ok?"

"You were asking this when you added me as your friend, right?" The "Clear Sky Stone Earring" lay in Yu Man's palm. In the light, the gem shimmered.

“…Yeah, because it’s so beautiful.”

Jiandui Lulu no longer hides the fact that it is not because of his utilitarian desire to pursue rare equipment, but because of his girlish love for beauty.

Yu Man said softly, "Please extend your hand."

With disbelief and surprise, Jiandui Lulu carefully stretched out his hand with his palm facing up.

But the imagined scene did not come true. Instead, Yu Man realized the misunderstanding and immediately shook her head with reluctance: "Misunderstanding, this is not the atmosphere! Don't think it's a gift for you!"

"Ah."

She nodded, indeed feeling a little disappointed, but she seemed to be accustomed to not getting what she wanted.

"That's right, this jewelry can enhance your vision, allowing you to see farther and more clearly."

Yu Man pointed to the other side of the horizon, where there was a blurred line formed by the blending of two blue colors.

"So, I'll lend this to you, traveler, and use it to draw a map."

"map?"

Sitting there, facing the sky and the sea, Yu Man let his words wander on the wind: "The distant islands you see will become lines in your hands, and then become destinations, attracting the hearts of other travelers."

She took the borrowed ear clip, put it on, and looked out at the world that was farther and clearer.

"What's on those islands?" she asked.

"From an NPC's perspective, it's chaos, wilderness, governmentlessness, alien races, terrifying, ancient, and unknown."

Yu Man said again——

"For players, it's experience, loot, gathering, teaming up, killing, being killed, and training."

"What about the traveler?" asked the traveler.

“—It’s unknown.”

The traveler nodded, once again imprinting the shadows of the islands in his eyes, and suddenly asked, "What about you?"

Yu Man pointed to the top of her head, where her ID, Eel, was—in other words, it was the place she should go.

The traveler smiled and suddenly said, "Come to think of it, do you know what the traveler's gathering skill is? What does it gather?"

"……Uh?"

She also pointed to Yu Man's ID: "It's fishing."

012·▇▇▇

Without the protection of his skills, Yu Man's vision became less broad.

Maybe this is the reason why she sees things strangely.

So much so that - in his field of vision, it seemed that the only thing left was the girl in front of him.

Yu Man was a little confused about this.

Is it because... her character is so beautiful? That's true.

Even not long ago, when she came out of the basilisk's belly, she was covered in gastric juice and food residues, and exuded a foul odor... Even then, Yu Man felt that her role was great.

But there must be other reasons, right?

Suddenly, Yu Man understood - simply because she was looking into the distance.

Beneath her youthful exterior lies a soul free from distractions, aspiring only to explore places she's never been. Her passion and ideals are poured into her gaze, as she strains to see the world beyond.

It's a bit like a gem. The purer and freer it is from impurities, the more beautiful it is.

Once the human soul is ignited by something, it will emit a flawless brilliance.

——Just like what she is exuding now.

"Eel." She typed out the ID of her friend, the only person she knew in the world. "Is there anything you want to do when you play this game?"

"Compared to that, there's something I don't want to do—I don't want to be hooked." Yu Man answered casually.

"Eh, holding a grudge."

"how about you?"

"I want to realize in this world everything I can't do in reality, and you told me that our world isn't just this tiny island, there's a vast ocean waiting to be explored. I'm going to play this game for a very, very long time."

"Not going to work?"

"If I don't, you will?"

"I'm not going either... Then you won't go to school?" Yu Man asked the cruel question in a matter-of-fact tone.

But surprisingly, Jiandui Lulu didn't break down at all: "Well, I won't go either."

"...Then how do you eat?"

"...Uh, of course I eat normally."

Okay, I won't ask anymore. Yu Man mentioned reality, and there were other reasons.

Many people are addicted to this world, but the price they pay is the ruin of reality, or even self-destruction. Yu Man certainly doesn't want her to be like this.

As for Yu Man herself... Fortunately, Jiandui Lulu was not interested in her dilapidated reality, but just prepared the drawing tools.

In the Novice Village, each adventurer class will receive related quests to help players familiarize themselves with it. In return, there will be some basic item rewards, and for her travelers, these are paper, a compass, and charcoal.

In the snow and ice, the brittle papers become soft under the clear sky.

It’s a pity that the blue sky is not a paint and cannot be painted on these papers.

The only pen here is charcoal, which is essential for surviving in the ice and snow.

Jiandui Lulu uses the "Draw Map" skill to naturally draw lines, outlining the visible terrain bit by bit.

She paused, using a piece of ice to gently press the paper so that it would not be blown away by the wind, and then freed her left hand to type.

"Continuing with what we were just talking about, I want to play this game for a long time - brother, please don't interrupt this time."

"Well, then what?"

"I can't play the tank game alone, right?"

"...That's true. Tank teams are still quite popular, but either you play well and get invited to join a guild and form a permanent team, or you play badly and get banned from the forums, and you can no longer form a team."

Nodding, Jiandui Lulu was silent for a while.

Then—asked: "Can you tell me what a generous invitation is like?"

The top of the World Tree fell into silence.

There was only the sound of travelers drawing topographical maps and charcoal leaving marks on paper.

Yu Man sighed inwardly because the other person's eyes were so serious.

As a newbie, you're playing alright... But I'm a determined lone wolf player! Go find someone else! Yu Man wanted to say this, but the words wouldn't form.

"Forming a fixed team usually doesn't end well," Yu Man explained. "I'll be madly disgusted with your incompetence and put a lot of pressure on you. You'll start to think I'm a completely different person than I am now, become extremely disappointed in me, and then angrily start a quarrel with me, and we'll part ways on bad terms."

"...So far-sighted?"

"Then you can just take me off the forum and write something like 'I'm a crazy eel, you're really good at biting people.'"

“…Will I?”

"Because I also like to read the quarrel forums. Once I get my share of the spoils, I'll want revenge. So I'll go to the illegal area and kill you, leaving nothing behind."

"...No, no, no, the future is like this: I'm pressured by you, and you hang me up and say I'm a loser, and I like to look at Victoria's Secret and it's degrading. Hanging me up isn't enough, you trick me into an illegal area under the guise of getting back together, and then you kill me behind my back."

Yu Man was silent. This guy is quite sensible.

They stared at each other and fell silent again.

but--

"Haha."

"Ah, puff."

They both laughed, without any concealment, and only the light laughter floated in the clear sky.

Without saying anything, Jiandui Lulu started talking: "So this is a cordial invitation."

"Wait, I realized, weren't you the one inviting me?" Yu Man suddenly asked.

"Humph, so what."

"……Too."

Yu Man breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing his body and mind for a rare moment, just enjoying this moment.

There is no extreme solo play to chase progress, no frantic monster farming to master the skills, only the tranquility of looking into the distance.

And——"Drawn." Map information shared by new teammates.

In this way, they obtained a topographic map of a large area, which recorded not only the overall appearance of the island of Shimla Bakken, but also the various types of nearby waters, and the location and appearance of several small islands.

After carefully accepting it, Yu Man pointed to the main city, even though it was so small it was just a grayish-white expanse. "It's time to return to the city. In the near future, we will personally set foot on the scenery on the map."

"Okay—then jump down and commit suicide and return to the city?" she asked as a matter of course.

"It's not impossible, but - Ms. Shim Labakken, we want to say goodbye to this place for a while. There will be countless lively events arriving here in the future. I hope that one day you will still remember us."

"Yes." Miss World Tree, outlined by ice and snow, smiled and said goodbye to them. "When we meet again, tell me about your travels, please."

"it is good."

Miss World Tree raised her hand, and at her will, the ice and snow were magically formed into a leaf, which appeared under the feet of the two girls and carried them.

Then—a soft breeze mixed with coolness blew up.

Wrapped in leaves, they moved further and further away from the clear sky and closer and closer to the main city.

……

A very lively scene.

The players who bought gaming equipment and were assigned to Shimla Bakken have basically arrived.

There are also people who claim to be experienced and start to guide newbies in the novice village to build a player ecosystem.

The main city and surrounding areas were therefore packed.

The illegal zone also began to become a stage for the first-level equipment to fight. The players' tendencies gradually began to affect their future.

After completing their previous adventure, they returned with a great harvest.

"What are you going to do next?"

"Go to the trading house."

Yu Man brought her to the trading house, both to check the purchase orders he had placed and to buy some clothes for her.

A large number of basic resource orders have been completed. Even if there are occasional small orders and the purchase price is higher than Yu Man’s, there is no need to worry. After all, her financial resources can still support it.