[POV: Sloth]
Before me was a man and a little girl hugging each other. The man had a stubble-covered face, and his clothes were ragged and torn from battle. He looked exhausted, battered, and utterly worn down. If it weren’t for Gryphon’s rescue and the Nature Sprite’s healing spell, he probably would have died already.
I had saved this man, so I supposed that made him my responsibility.
“Do you have a name?” I asked.
“It’s Sun Jian, your lordship,” he replied nervously.
“Stand up.”
Sun Jian immediately did as he was told, while the little girl nervously stood beside him. The two of them held hands, and Sun Jian carried the sword that I remembered seeing the little girl wield not long ago. They looked like a father and daughter, though I couldn’t see any resemblance between them.
“And the little girl?” I asked.
“This is Feng Cai, your lordship,” Sun Jian said, glancing down at her. “She is the youngest princess of the Great Feng.”
He went on to explain that they had been pursued by assassins employed by the Great Feng following a civil war that had erupted after the death of their late monarch. The ministers had apparently used the king’s death as an opportunity to seize control of the country, plunging it into chaos. Sun Jian had been entrusted with protecting the princess, and that was why he had fled with her. Their destination was the Goldenreach Mountains, where he hoped to seek the protection of Jin the Golden Dragon.
Except… Jin was most likely dead right now. I had killed him. Did that make me responsible for these two now? If this had been a game, I wouldn’t have cared much. I would have done the bare minimum required to complete the quest, then gone back to sleep the first chance I got. Unfortunately, this didn’t feel much like a game anymore.
“Mr. Dragon, please protect my dad and me.”
I blinked.
The little girl was looking up at me with wide, innocent eyes. “Mr. Dragon?”
I sighed.
Apparently, that was what I was now.
Sun Jian immediately winced. “Feng Cai, I’m not your dad.”
“You’re my dad!”
“I’m not.”
“You are!”
“I really am not.”
“You’re my dad!”
The little girl’s face crumpled as she threw another tantrum, clinging tightly to Sun Jian’s hand as though refusing to acknowledge his objection could somehow change reality. Sun Jian looked increasingly helpless. They were quite a pair. There was a lot on my mind right now. For one thing, how could I understand their words? I was certain they were speaking an entirely different language, yet I could understand them perfectly. More importantly, I could communicate with them just as easily. I theorized that my ability to communicate with them stemmed from my Voice of the World ability.
There was also the expanding awareness of an entirely different cultural sphere. From what I had seen of the palace, the architecture and customs seemed to carry a strong eastern influence. Now, I had two people standing before me who shared physical characteristics and naming conventions that reminded me of the East. More specifically, China.
The game I remembered had been heavily influenced by Western high-fantasy aesthetics. Elves, dwarves, knights, castles, dragons, and all that stuff. So, had I somehow been transported into a magical version of China with my game character? As far as most webnovel plots went, that was actually pretty much in character. Hm. Webnovels, huh? That was probably one of the few things I would miss from back home.
Honestly, though, I didn’t mind staying here for the rest of my life.
“My great lord?” The Nature Sprite’s worried voice brought me back to reality. She was sitting atop my staff, her tiny figure leaning toward me with a concerned expression. “Is there a problem, great lord? Are you feeling ill? Have you been injured? Has some terrible ailment befallen you without my knowledge?”
“I’m fine. I was just distracted.”
The Nature Sprite suddenly looked offended. “Distracted?” Her expression became one of exaggerated outrage. “How could I have been so foolish as to even consider that my great lord might become sick? What a disgrace! I have failed you!”
“What?”
“Please punish me, great lord! I deserve it!”
I sighed. “There’s no need.”
“But—”
“No need.”
The Nature Sprite lowered her head, looking thoroughly dejected despite my reassurance.
Eventually, Feng Cai stopped throwing her tantrum, while Sun Jian looked at me apologetically.
“Your lordship,” he said, bowing his head, “I beg you to offer us refuge.” He then ushered Feng Cai forward. “Feng Cai, show his lordship the plaque.”
The little girl fumbled with the front of her clothes before clumsily pulling out a bronze plaque. She held it out toward me with both hands. “Mr. Dragon… help us.”
I stared at the plaque.
Sun Jian quickly began explaining. “In the past, the King of Feng once visited these mountains with his wife. During that visit, he encountered the dragon. The two of them made a bet, and the King of Feng won.” He paused, glancing at the bronze plaque. “Because of that victory, the dragon granted him a single favor. This plaque was given to him as proof of that promise.”
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The misunderstanding only seemed to be getting worse.
“The dragon is dead,” I said plainly. “I killed him. There is no Jin. Whatever promise that plaque represents, the person who made it is gone. And for the record, my name is Sloth. Not ‘Mr. Dragon.’ I’m not obligated to help you.”
There was a brief silence, the little girl looking at me with wide and teary eyes.
“Of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t help you,” I added, feeling annoyed at myself. I gestured toward Gryphon. “Gryphon, take Feng Cai back to the palace. Keep her safe.”
The Gryphon gave a proud chirp and lowered itself toward the little girl.
Sun Jian looked at me in surprise. “Your lordship…”
“You stay.”
Sun Jian hesitated, but he nodded. To be honest, I liked my chances here. I had already realized that my powers were fundamentally incompatible with this world. That created a lot of unknown variables, but unknown variables could go either way. They could be advantageous or disadvantageous depending on how the people here measured strength. My fight with the Golden Dragon had been one example.
Another was how easily Gryphon had snatched Sun Jian from the middle of his enemies and flown away with him. If I could deduce the rest of their capabilities from their movement speed, then I was dealing with relatively weak enemies. That was where most of my confidence came from.
Admittedly, it was reasonable to expect Gryphon to be faster than them. It had wings, after all, and it had been one of the fastest creatures available in the game.
However, LWO had plenty of strategies that allowed even lower-level players to catch up with a Gryphon. Clever equipment combinations, terrain advantages, movement skills, and even proper aggro management could close the gap. Those enemies had displayed none of that. Then again, there was another possibility. There could be an entirely different meta in this world that I simply didn’t understand. If that was the case, the same thing applied to the people here.
They were dealing with me without understanding my meta, either. That thought alone made me feel considerably better about the situation.
Sun Jian approached Feng Cai and crouched before her. “Feng Cai, you need to go with Sir Gryphon.”
“No.” She immediately shook her head. “I stay with you.”
“I’ll follow soon.”
“No.”
“Feng Cai…”
“You come.”
Sun Jian's expression softened. He placed a hand on her head. “I promise I’ll come back.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
She stared at him for a moment before finally nodding.
Sun Jian helped the little girl onto Gryphon’s back. Feng Cai immediately grabbed hold of the Gryphon’s feathers with both hands, looking nervous as the beast spread its wings.
“Be careful,” Sun Jian said.
“Bye-bye, Dad!”
Sun Jian's face twitched. “I’m still not your dad.”
Gryphon leaped. The great beast spread its wings and soared into the sky, carrying Feng Cai back toward the palace. Sun Jian watched until they disappeared from sight. We remained on this side of the mountain, overlooking the direction from which the enemies would eventually come.
“I intend to fight,” Sun Jian said, tightening his grip around the sword in his hand. “I was once a general of the Great Feng. I cannot hide behind your protection while my enemies pursue the princess. If you truly intend to shelter us, then allow me to stand at the vanguard with your warriors. I will spend the rest of my life making amends for the trouble I have brought to your home. If I must expend my life here, then so be it. At the very least, I will swing my sword until the very end.”
My warriors, huh? He had no idea.
“There’s no need for that,” I said. “You’ll stay by my side.”
Sun Jian looked confused. “Your lordship, I…”
“You can act as my counsel.”
He looked doubtful. “I am not worthy of such an honor.”
The Nature Sprite immediately puffed herself up. “Not worthy?” She flew down from my staff and pointed accusingly at Sun Jian. “You should be grateful that our great lord has shown you such kindness! Rather than questioning his generosity, you should be bowing your head in gratitude!”
Sun Jian stared at her.
I sighed.
The Nature Sprite returned to sitting on my staff as though she had just delivered some profound piece of wisdom. I took a deep breath, then I prepared to use a skill. Map Creation had been a staple skill for players in LWO. Its usefulness was difficult to overstate. Whether I was exploring a dungeon, navigating the wilderness, or commanding an army across unfamiliar terrain, having a detailed map was invaluable.
There was also a way to evolve certain skills into superior versions of themselves.
As a player who relied heavily on long-distance strategy and who had basically treated parts of LWO like an army simulation, I had naturally evolved my Map Creation.
“Map Creation: Worldroot Cartography.”
I sank my awareness into the land itself, from roots, moss, insects, birds, and the wind. Even the soil’s memories. They all answered my call. Instantly, a living, three-dimensional map bloomed inside my mind. It was a strange experience. A novel one, almost.
Normally, Map Creation would have appeared as a small window within my UI. I could toggle it on and off whenever I needed it. This was different. There was no window screen or interface. The world itself became my map. Every contour of the land unfolded within my awareness. The exact topography, hills, valleys, cliffs, forests, paths, and other major terrain features were displayed with absurd detail.
Living creatures appeared as glowing silhouettes. Blue represented those I recognized as allies. Red represented hostility. Naturally, this relied on a Wisdom check, so the skill could potentially misidentify something. But given the circumstances, I doubted that would be a problem.
The map even predicted subtle changes in the environment from weather patterns, soil erosion, and shifting terrain. It was almost as if the land itself were whispering its secrets directly into my mind. And the range was ridiculous. I could zoom in and zoom out as I pleased.
I could examine the battlefield from practically any perspective I wanted. But that wasn't even the best part. There was a maximize and minimize function. Currently, it was minimized, meaning only I could perceive the map. Maximize allowed me to project it for my allies.
With a thought, the map appeared before us.
A glowing, floating projection of vines, leaves, and soft green light unfolded in the air, forming a detailed representation of the surrounding mountains.
Sun Jian stared at it. His eyes widened. “What…?”
The Nature Sprite immediately puffed out her chest. “That is merely the tip of our great lord’s power!” She raised both hands dramatically, boasting. “Our great lord possesses countless abilities beyond mortal comprehension! His wisdom stretches farther than the heavens, and his power encompasses the earth itself! What you see before you is but a tiny glimpse of his greatness!”
I was honestly starting to get embarrassed by her praises.
“Yeah, yeah.”
I turned my attention back to the map.
The sooner I got this over with, the sooner I could go back to bed and sleep. If this had been back in the game, I would have simply issued a series of commands to my summons, watched the battlefield unfold, and then taken a nap after ascertaining my victory. I was feeling a little more responsible today, though. Perhaps it was because there was a child involved. Or perhaps I simply didn't want to see another person die after I had already saved them.
“When a child cries to you, it is the adult’s responsibility to make them stop crying.”
I turned toward Sun Jian. My gaze hardened. I didn't like unknown variables, especially with the stakes involved. Children were the future. That was what we had always been taught when I was young. Then I grew up and entered the workforce. And somewhere along the way, I stopped seeing much of a future at all. I looked back at the map. The approaching enemies were still somewhere beyond its current range.
“Lend me your assistance,” I said to Sun Jian, gesturing toward the projected map as I looked him directly in the eyes. “You know the enemy better than I do, but I know almost nothing about them. So help me crush the trespassers.”
Sun Jian's expression changed. The doubt disappeared from his eyes. What remained was resolve. He placed one hand over the hilt of his sword and bowed his head.
“Then tell me, your lordship.”
His eyes lifted toward mine.
“What do you need?”