Into The Unknown World

Chapter 5. The Pixie

During his long journey, worried about the diversity of beasts walking in the forest, he felt like the help he was looking forward to is never coming, though Twig understands that he still needs to bring the floating pixie's egg to the castle in order for it to hatch.

Twig anxiously wandered the entire area looking for a place to hide and hunting beasts that he can eat for the past few days like a lawbreaker. Periodically, he needs to eat the meat raw so the beasts can't find and hunt him instead. A few more treks and he finally saw a river exiting the forest and leading to the entrance of the huge dome-like hill where houses were built on it. “That must be the place! I can see two towers that seemed to touch the sky. It's so tall.”

As he walked along the stony shore of the river, though it is steady as well as cloudy and windy, and he sees nothing outstanding to amuse him, Twig tirelessly ran towards the large dome-like city. Not caring about the creatures of the forest, it's like they're not able to leave from there, though. So he continued his journey to the settlement where people should live, which he long to talk about. Perhaps he can also find Morning Dew there. He is truly elated.

It is like an hour or more of walking and running to make sure he makes it out alive if the beasts decide to follow me. Once Twig arrived, he noticed that it is encompassed with massive intricate walls. This place is indeed glorious compared to the town where he lived. “Wait, is this the King's City? But where are the people?” 

All he can see are wonderfully carved stones, walls, gates, and huge pillars, as well as a public space. There were outer and inner walls. “Is this for the protection of the people?” The landscape features rocky, mountainous land but utilized to the fullest. Twig checked everywhere but no one is here, except there are plenty of ordinary houses that are open in the first wall.

He was exhausted searching for people in this first wave of open houses. Twig never thought that this big city lacked population. Checking the houses in the next wall will be exhausting, so he needed time to rest for tomorrow’s journey. ‘Hatching the egg comes next after I found Morning Dew here,’ is what he thought. He ate the meat jerks that he stored in the small pocket and closed his eyes. Hoping for the best, tomorrow needs to be productive and he will be reunited with his best friend. This enormous city should be quiet and an ideal place to live. Twig knew he'd try to look for people living too and if not, he'll leave some clue as to where he'll be next. He crossed his finger and finally slept.

The inside of the second wall houses all the more lacking restraint in using resources to build manors similar to the enormous stone house of our Lord Heinzall Badrick encircling the even tremendous castle. Again, these houses are all open and seemed ransacked. Still no clues of whoever built or lived in this place. It's unusual but Twig need to find out where he is at or if there are people still living or are they having a feast in the castle? No one knows. That's why he is heading to the castle. He needs to make sure that this is not an illusion anymore.

Reaching the top of this kingdom is the castle enclosed with another great wall of the sophisticated stone-carved pattern of flowers and trees. This whole place is a fortress of one's expression and application of creative skill and the display of ornate imagination. One can already see the two tall skyscrapers inside but how can someone get in? This is the last and only closed gate. It stood tall for a dramatic entrance door. Well, if that tall King is using this door, then there is no use in being surprised. Still, how do you open a door without a knob? Pushing it may not be effective, nor pulling the door. The only factor that Twig can think of is magic.

Placing his two hands with the only rectangular golden metal attached to the door, hoping that some green prickling light helps him again. When Twig hesitantly thought that it's impossible and nudged the metal, it started to light up examining his hand.

"Player detected. Unlocking passageways according to Kalpea's energy level. An unknown player can register to the main hall and commence support analysis download. Please follow the yellow lane."

"Down... Load?" He unknowingly mumbled. "Huh?" Sceptical with the glowing floors, Twig followed what he was being told. So far, nothing life-threatening happened except the excruciating pain before he arrived here. Twig survived. “Let's just pray that hatching the egg is not dangerous too. Huh.” He is obviously scared. Still walking down the hallway with portraits on the wall he doesn't understand, he continued. Or is it because of his uneasiness that causes this paranoia? Coming all the way here unscathed is praiseworthy. He is indeed praiseworthy. One should think that way. “Now, I am inside. This must be the main hall where I can hatch my pixie's egg, right?”

In a small platform, lies a big golden goblet in the middle. At the back of it are knight statues with silver lances, bows, and swords pointing at the big goblet. “Hmmm?” Twig paused for a bit but he instinctively, slowly placed the tiny orb of light in the golden goblet. Then the screen showed up again.

"Congratulations! I commend you for making it this far, Player: [Unknown]. Would you like to continue registering as a player?"

A player. “What do you really mean by that? Player? I mean, am I playing games here?” He wondered for a long time but this is not a game that he should play. “So, this was all a game, huh.”

"Yes/No"

Looking at the simultaneously changing direction of the statues' weapons, He leapt after hearing that eerie voice saying, "Commencing player support analysis". Unlike previously, it's not the lucid glowing words communicating which he is already used to, catching a glimpse of terms suspended in the air along with a flamboyant sluggish voice. Sitting next to a large stone pillar, he looked at the floating sphere of energy. Twig is in awe, as he marvelled at what that creature will look like.

"Downloading data using Flower's energy signature. Please wait." It's been blathering on for half an hour since he positioned the ball of dark light in the golden goblet. It's absurd how dreary the tone of this person is. ‘Saying the message over and over again, it's deafeningly annoying.’

"Alright, I get it! I get it! I can wait. Waiting is what I will do." Not that he can do something about it aside from waiting, he expressed his annoyance to the lifeless voice.

Twig hurriedly walked to the small platform when the voice and the spinning of the orb ended. Staring at the glistening light, he can see tiny long and slender fingers coming out. It's like it already understands that this creature just hatched from an egg. However, this doesn't look like an infant, more like a dame.

It's the washed-out darkish-brown colour of the tip of her slender pointed ears that reveals her subtle beauty and slanted jade-green eyes which compliments the flowing long dark hazel hair that looks like it's inside a blob of water, waving. Twig never thought that this pixie can be the same size as his hand. The see-through dark gracefully thin wings that don't appear to be visible when it's not reflected on a light seems that it's floating on its own.

"Taking everything into consideration, I think this tiny being is adorable", he murmured.

"Greetings, my Lord. How shall I address you?" Says the pixie floating mid-air without moving her lips as it opened its eyes. Perplexed about what is happening he replied stuttering, "...I, I'm called Twig". It gave him the impression that this thing is communicating to him directly through my head. 

Which is indeed what happened.

"Please proceed to the character class examination." Then shortly after the dull boisterous voice announced it, the pixie glided towards Twig and around his body as if he was being studied entirely. After a moment, it flutters in front of him with a little curtsy for a couple of minutes and starts communicating without letting out a word again, giggling in an irritatingly smug and silly way.

"Your energy signature is somewhat like the Queen of Faes, my Lord. Are you by any chance communicated by Queen Kalpea?" As if all his normal reasoning has been discarded again, it resounded in his head loud and clear. He thought, ‘am I being questioned by this puny little pixie?’

"... I, I'm not sure I understand my situation either. Queen, huh. Is that the little white ghost?" Twig bluntly replied. Reminiscing about what occurred to that spacious white room before he got here, he saw a winged ghost striking the flower gently and lovingly.

"You're not wrong either, my Lord. Queen Kalpea was a Great Spirit created by the Supreme God of Creation to oversee the human world. In addition to that, she's the origin of the Fairy Kin. Fairies, in particular, are the general term for the descendants of the Queen's offsprings - the Faes..." She began twitching and hovers like she's trying to search the area.