I was confused.

Was it magic?

Teleportation?

The moment before, I was sprinting towards a row of trees, pursued by hideous creatures. And now I found myself on the ground, facing people who seemed completely normal.

"Guil, who have you brought?" said a voice.

"He's not handcuffed, is that normal?" said another.

"You know we have to avoid attracting the attention of Drifters to our walls. You need to be more careful," said another.

Before me stood four people.

One woman and three men.

They were all dressed in strange attire.

The three men wore metallic armor and carried spears or swords.

They looked strong.

The woman, on the other hand, wore a sort of white robe and held a wooden wand in her hand.

She looked exactly like the image I had of a mage.

"Get up," my guide told me.

He was standing next to me, wiping the dirt off his knees.

I stood up, nervous and lost.

"What are we going to do with him, Guil?" one of the armored men asked.

My guide spoke up, "He's just a wanderer I picked up on my path. I propose we introduce him to the chief," Guil replied, easing my tension.

The others appeared taken aback, falling into silence.

"Walk with me," Guil gestured. I'd begun to follow when one man obstructed my path, skepticism etched on his face.

"What guarantees that this guy isn't a spy for a high-level player trying to fill his debt bar?" he said.

Clearly, I was in the middle of a crisis.

I didn't want to be there, but I also didn't want to go back to where the monsters were.

"A low-level 9 guy working for a high-level player to bring us all down? Is that the best you could come up with? You know that we were all like this guy at first, lost. Since when have we stopped helping the weak?" Guil said, his voice moralizing but just.

I started to appreciate him.

The armored man removed his hand and let me pass.

He lowered his head, probably out of shame.

The other three people remained silent.

I continued to follow Guil, this time with more confidence.

He seemed to be defending my interests.

"Finally, some justice in this Hell," I thought.

As we moved forward, I became more aware of where I was.

I was in a sort of small village, with small wooden houses and straw roofs scattered around.

A small river ran through the center, and a mill took advantage of the movement of the water to turn its wheel.

It was almost night, but there was good visibility thanks to the numerous light poles placed everywhere.

They were made of black wood, about two Yards high, topped with a hood to protect the flame from rain.

Above our heads was the night sky.

Numerous trees, located within the village, partially obscured it.

These trees were so numerous that it seemed like I was in a forest.

In fact, that's when I realized that all around this village, there were trees.

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So many and so close together that it looked like a natural wall.

These trees were taller than the others.

At a glance, they must have been about 30 yards high.

My thoughts were interrupted by Guil.

"This is the village of Hermine, you must have seen it on your screen," he said.

I quickly opened my XP details and saw an entry indicating my discovery of this village, along with a gain of 50 XP!

I was happy, but also disappointed that I didn't earn points for other discoveries that I thought I had made.

I had the feeling of having experienced so many adventures in such a short time.

I pushed those thoughts aside and decided to ask Guil a question: "Who were those people earlier, and who are you?" I asked.

"They are players who have chosen to stop chasing the illusions of the system." He paused after saying that and turned around.

He put his hand on his heart and looked at me.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Guilbard. Here, you are in a hidden village that serves as a refuge for players who have stopped leveling up, the Dwellers. That's what I am, and I hope that's what you'll become too," he explained.

His gaze remained fixed on me.

I avoided it and looked to the side.

"And... why be in such a dangerous place?" I asked.

I blurted out the first question that came to mind, hoping that Guil would stop staring at me.

"There's a well-known saying in Hell: 'Who flees the system, encounters the players.' The greatest threat to us is other players, so we've hidden where we have the least chance of encountering them, where the system's influence is strongest," he explained.

I was about to ask another question, but he signaled for me to follow him and resumed walking.

"This wall made of trees protects us by keeping the Drifters at bay. The problem is that we've grown attached to this tranquility, and many of us don't want to share it with strangers anymore," he continued.

I didn't like where this conversation was leading.

I also remembered that one of the men I had seen earlier had mentioned putting handcuffs on me.

"Do they plan to imprison me?" I wondered.

"I'll introduce you to our chief, he'll decide if you can stay," he finally said.

"And what if he refuses?" I asked.

"I'll personally escort you back to where I found you," Guil replied confidently.

Then he stopped.

We were in front of a large house, the largest in the entire village.

It must have been about 6 yards high.

The wood that formed its walls was polished, and the straw that lined its roof was almost golden yellow.

Two thick curtains covered a wide entrance, through which flames could be seen.

"Enter," a powerful voice said.

I shivered upon hearing it.

Guil pushed the curtain aside and gestured for me to enter.

I forced my feet to move forward.

Now I was in a large room lined with torches.

At the back was a sort of large straw-stuffed throne.

A heavily-built man sat on it.

He had dark skin and a thin, long black beard.

It was difficult to determine his age, maybe 30 or 40.

I walked up to him.

"So, you're the new player Guil brought, huh?" the man said.

I felt intimidated, not so much by his imposing physique, but because I knew I was dealing with someone important.

"Yes, sir," I replied.

"Mmm... Level 9... Lot of points on Strength... Mmm..." he mumbled.

I looked to my right and saw Guil discreetly giving me a thumbs-up, with a slight smirk on his face.

That reassured me once again.

Then the chief began to speak.

"Okay, you can stay," he said simply.

I had a hard time grasping whether it was good or bad news.

But seeing a big smile on Guil's face, I thought it must be positive.

After all, this place seemed safe, and these people seemed strong.

The chief turned his head towards Guil and gave him instructions: "Take him to those in charge of the farm. And be very careful that he doesn't level up."

He spoke quietly, but I heard everything.

"Taking care of a farm sounds peaceful. And not leveling up, I expected that, they are Dwellers after all," I thought.

Then Guil approached me, tapped my shoulder, and told me to follow him, still smiling.

After a few minutes, we were in front of a large rectangular building, just behind which stretched a vast field where small plants with black leaves grew.

It was night, but about ten people were still on this field, pulling the plants from the ground or planting seeds.

"You're going to become a farmer, which involves planting and harvesting the only plant we grow here: Black Turcos. It's a rare plant that has the unique ability to generate debt points when you eat or sell it," Guil explained, holding a black tuber in his hand.

I had seen this plant before, it was the one my captor used to eat all the time.

I looked at it with curiosity, pretending to see it for the first time.

"And why is it the only plant you grow?" I asked.

"Because it's the only plant we know that doesn't give XP. Plain and simple," he explained.

"Do you avoid leveling up to that extent?" I asked next.

"Yes, the idea of gaining XP is taboo here. Avoid talking about it with others," he said, placing the Black Turcos back on its bucket. He leaned against the wooden fence that separated the dirt path we were walking on from the farm.

Then he continued, "It's difficult to earn debt points. We only have enough plants to pay off everyone's debts here. But if someone levels up, especially if it's a high level... It will become difficult to pay."

"What happens if someone has too much debt?" I asked.

Guil seemed to think carefully about his words before answering.

"Here, in this village, our value is balanced with the weight of our debt. If a level 30 mage allows us to have light all night and protects us from the Drifters when necessary, their debt is worth paying. But if not... An unpaid debt endangers everyone, and... We have to get rid of the threat," he finished, his throat tight.

This seemingly peaceful village was a constant test of worth.

I was going to have to make myself useful, or who knows what they would do to me...