The village drew closer with each step, its wooden fences and thatched rooftops now fully visible beyond the gentle slopes of the land.
Leon slowed his pace.
His instincts, sharpened by two decades of surviving in Devia, urged him to take in every detail. Even in a peaceful place like this, knowledge was power.
The dirt road leading into Green Pine Village wasn't well-worn. That was the first thing he noticed.
Unlike the bustling player hubs he had grown used to in his past life, this place had not yet been flooded with travelers. The ground showed only light foot traffic—wagon wheels had left shallow imprints, and the occasional boot mark was pressed into the soil, but the path was far from overused.
It made sense. The game had yet to launch.
Right now, this was just an ordinary village in an unspoiled world.
Leon let out a slow breath.
He had a full year before everything changed.
A year before this quiet place would be overrun by new players, before its peaceful villagers became quest-givers, and before the balance of power in Devia would be completely rewritten.
But even now, the world wasn't truly empty.
It was alive.
And he needed to treat it that way.
---
As he approached the village entrance, Leon's sharp eyes picked up small details that others might have missed.
A farmer stood near the fence, inspecting a wooden post that had begun to rot at the base. A young boy, no older than ten, chased a chicken through the grass, laughing as it flapped its wings in protest. An elderly woman sat by the roadside, peeling vegetables with practiced ease, her weathered hands moving with a rhythm that spoke of years of repetition.
None of them spared Leon more than a passing glance.
To them, he was just another traveler.
And that was exactly what he wanted—for now.
He adjusted the simple leather straps of his gear and kept walking.
The village gate had no guards—only a wooden archway with a faded sign hanging above it. The words Green Pine Village were etched into the worn wood, barely legible from years of exposure to the elements.
Leon reached out, running his fingers across the rough surface.
This place hadn't changed at all.
But soon, it would.
He stepped forward, crossing the threshold into the village.
His journey had officially begun.
---