I walked along the road until I finally reached the base of the colossal tree. A crowd of people had gathered in front of what appeared to be a temple. Dominating the scene was a large effigy of an anthropomorphic sea creature, reminiscent of the swamp creature but more delicate and imposing. Curiosity piqued, I made my way to the entrance of the temple and was taken aback by the somber atmosphere. The Enkis inside seemed sorrowful, with some crying and others sitting on the ground. I wondered what could have transpired.

A young Enkis tugged at my arm and asked, "You came to help?"

I looked down at the young Enkis, who appeared to be as young as a 5 or 6-year-old human child.

"Help?" I replied.

Just then, what I assumed to be his mother arrived, picked him up, and walked away, but not before the child pleaded :

"Help us! Get it back!"

I watched as they disappeared into the crowd, then turned my attention back to the temple entrance and ventured inside.

The temple was actually within the trunk of the massive tree. It was smelling awful, stagnant water surrounded a central circular platform, its greenish hue tainted by dirt and algae. Ivy covered the inside of the trunk, though most of it was dried out or on the brink of death. Elaborate carvings of Abzu and the Enkis adorned the walls, etched directly into the wood.

In the center of the platform stood an empty pedestal. It didn't take long for me to realize what this meant.

"Temple of Doom," I muttered aloud, recognizing the beginning of a quest.

An Enki wearing a beautiful blue hooded robe, adorned with gold and silver designs, knelt before the vacant pedestal. I approached.

"Hi," I greeted.

The Enki stood up and turned toward me. She was a young female, her face displaying traces of recent hardship.

"Another Revival," she acknowledged.

"I suppose a strong woman came by earlier?" I asked.

"Correct, she was here early this morning."

"What happened here?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"The Goblins attacked last night, and the tree is dying," she explained.

This was the beginner's floor, as I suspected. I knew where this was heading.

"And they took the Gem of Life or something similar?" I inquired.

"How do you know?" she responded, surprised by my knowledge.

Internally I was laughing. This was Quest 101. I had designed countless quests like this. I decided to mess with the NPC :

"I know everything," I confidently declared.

Her eyes widened. "A Diviner," she exclaimed with hope.

Crap, I thought.

"You are a Diviner, you know the future, you know everything.", she continued.

Crap, crap, crap. Why did I say that?

I stammered, "I... um... I am not a diviner. Sorry about that. I just meant... I am familiar with this situation."

She regarded me with a perplexed expression and remained silent for a long while.

I hope I didn't break the game, I thought anxiously.

"Will you help, then?" she finally asked.

"Do you know where they took it?" I countered.

"I thought you knew everything, so surely you must know," she said, grinning playfully.

Well played, I thought. Well played.

"I apologize, I do not know that. But if you were to tell me, I could potentially help you retrieve it," I proposed.

She paused, contemplating my offer.

"It must be in their closest camp, to the east of Green Tree," she revealed. "The tall woman already set off in that direction. If you can bring back the Gem of Abzu, I will reward you with 1000 gold. The tree is dying without it."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

She gestured toward the murky water and withered ivy.

Deciding to play the game, I cleared my throat, placed my right hand over my heart, and proclaimed loudly :

"I shall retrieve the stone and return it safely to you mylady!"

She chuckled.

"You are a strange person, Revival," she remarked. "Thank you for bringing a smile to my face in these dark times."

I nodded, returning her smile and assuming a more relaxed posture.

"When did the other Revival depart?" I asked.

"Early this morning, about two or three hours ago," she replied.

"Alright, I'll try to catch up with her."

"Just so we're clear," she interjected, pointing at me, "the 1000 gold is all I have, so you'll have to split the reward."

"Not a problem," I assured her.

With that settled, I set off on my way. I pondered how the NPC had reacted to my approach. I had anticipated them to be more... well, less intelligent. It appeared that the world was more alive than I had initially imagined. This was something I needed to explore further and test as much as I could. If I could grasp the underlying mechanics better, I would have a greater chance of reaching the top.

Exiting the temple, I asked a few NPCs for directions and was directed toward the East Door of Green Tree. I made my way there and exited the village.

I found myself on a dirt path, similar to the one that led me to Green Tree. I checked my map, but I hadn't discovered enough to locate the Goblin's Camp yet. Deciding to use my hoverboard once again, I aimed to catch up with the other Revival, occasionally checking my map to see if any icon would show up.

It didn't take long for the red square icon, marking the mob camp, to come into view. I accelerated and arrived just as my hoverboard dematerialized. In front of me a battle was raging.

In the midst of the camp stood a tall woman in imposing silver armor, wielding a war hammer and fending off goblins as they attacked her. Clearly, she wasn't Cleo. Despite her exhaustion, she taunted the goblins, daring them to attack while they hesitated in fear. Surrounding her were the lifeless bodies of defeated goblins littering the ground. I rushed forward, drawing my sword, eager to assist.

As I approached, she swung her weapon at me, but I quickly evaded it, shouting :

"Hey! I'm here to help!"

She looked at me with her face filled with rage.

"Who the fuck are you?" she asked with a thick French accent.

"I'm Simon, on the same quest from the Temple. I can help!"

"I'm fine. I don't need help. Move on," she replied angrily as she pushed me away.

Just then, taking advantage of her distraction, a group of goblins rushed toward us. The woman swung her war hammer, sending three of them airborne. Anticipating their attack, I jumped - this time more comfortable with the height I would reach - then landed on one of them, stabbing him in the chest.

An arrow whizzed past me, narrowly missing its mark, as my body reacted by itself dodging the projectile.

My Dexterity Stat, I thought.

I quickly sheathed back my sword, pulled out my crossbow and shot down the attacker before he could reload his bolt, striking him squarely in the head. He was propelled backward, carried by the momentum of my attack, and crashed into a nearby tent.

The woman finished off the remaining goblins, pummeling them with her hammer as blood splattered everywhere. She appeared weary and was breathing heavily.

"Need a health patch? I have plenty," I offered.

"I already used one, and it's on cooldown," she replied.

"I wasn't aware there was a cooldown."

"Idiot," she muttered, her French accent butchering the word.

Suddenly, the tent into which I had crashed the previous goblin was violently thrown into the air, and a voice shouted from within :

"WHO DARES WAKE ME UP!"

A corpulent goblin now stood there, slightly taller than the others, adorned with suspenders filled with dynamite. His belly hanging in the air. His gaze locked onto us as he grabbed a stick from his suspenders - that lighted up automatically as he took it off - and hurled it in our direction.

I leaped away, while the woman quickly retreated. The stick exploded upon impact, engulfing the area in smoke, dirt, and blood. I shielded my face.

"Merde!" exclaimed the woman in frustration.

I quickly reloaded my crossbow, took aim and shot. To my surprise, the agile goblin effortlessly dodged my shot. He moved remarkably fast for his size. Undeterred, I reloaded once more, but the goblin quickly retaliated by throwing two more sticks my way, a grin on his face. I managed to evade them, but the ensuing explosions propelled me into the air, causing me to crash hard onto the ground, trying my best to hold my crossbow tight. My health dropped to 148.

I swiftly stood back up, preparing for another confrontation. Glad I had invested in better gear.

The hefty goblin charged at me, smashing into me with incredible force. Once again, I was sent flying through the air and crashed into the ground, this time losing my grip on the crossbow. My health dwindled to 132 as the goblin laughed tapping his belly with his hand.

I promptly stood up, pulling my sword, bracing myself for the next onslaught.

The large goblin charged toward me once more, but this time, out of nowhere, the woman swung her war hammer, striking him right in the head. The blow halted him in his tracks. Blood spilling from his face as his feet left the ground, sending him flying back with tremendous force. He traveled a good ten feet before crashing onto the dirt with a resounding thud.

I looked at the woman in awe. She was strong!

"Well done!" I shouted.

"This is a boss," the woman said, gasping for breath and staring at where the goblin had landed. "It's going to take more than that to finish him."

She took a big breath and darted toward the boss as he began to rise, arming herself with her war hammer and shouting angrily :

"Crève enfoiré de merde!"

The boss executed a kip-up, showcasing remarkable flexibility despite his corpulence.

The woman swung her weapon at him with all her might, but he evaded her attack by crouching and directly counterattacked ; delivering an uppercut that sent her flying into the air, hitting her right in the jaw.

She crashed onto the ground, her weapon slipping from her grasp. The boss, now advancing toward her, raised his fist menacingly, a huge grin on his face.

Acting swiftly, I summoned all my strength and dashed toward the boss, swinging my sword. He saw me coming and raised both forearms to protect himself, but my strike drew blood, inflicting a deep wound that forced him back.

He growled in anger, then took two more sticks of dynamite. His gaze fixed on the woman, who struggled to rise, her arms trembling under the weight of her heavy armor.

The boss grinned as he threw the two sticks toward her and leaped backward with ease.

Reacting on instinct, I dashed forward, intercepting one of the sticks with the flat side of my sword and redirecting it toward him. Utilizing my momentum, I landed on top of the woman, shielding her with my body. Our face looking at each other, only mere inches apart.

A massive explosion ensued. The force of the blast seared and shredded my back, causing me to shout out in pain as I watched my health plummet...