Han had already made his decision even before the sun rose up into the sky. He squared his shoulders and took a deep breath.

It was now or never.

"Gather Resources."

[ Gathering Resources… ]

[ Procuring Item… ]

A small tooting of the trumpet sounded around him as the screen in front displayed the results.

[ Congratulations, [ Han ]! You Have Gathered 10 Items! Check Your Inventory! ]

He bit back a smile as he proceeded with the next step. "Inventory."

< Inventory >

6 stones

11 seashells

3 silver

AshWood Bark

PoisonBerry

2 LumenFruit

3 Sage Grass

3 Gray Moss

Timothy's Memento

Six stones left? He had really managed to use up a decent amount of those rocks at the beach for good use. And he still needed to return Timothy's memento to him. Now that he had gathered some resources now…

< Chat Room >

Wood Elf: No New Messages

Demon Lord: 20+ New Messages

Peach: No New Messages

Universal Chat: 50+ New Messages

He winced when he saw the Demon Lord's name… he had left their messages unread, and now he wasn't really that eager to go check them. So far, the dude behind that account didn't really seem to like him.

If he kept reading their messages, it was like he was allowing himself to be harrassed.

Instead he chatted with someone else.

Han: Hey there, Elf, I suppose I could trade with you.

One minute passed.

And then another.

And several minutes later.

Were they inactive? He clicked on the Wood Elf's name.

[ Wood Elf is currently away…]

Huh, they were away. It was a reminder that they also took some time off from this simulation. But what was he going to do with all the resources he gathered? Should he wait for the Wood Elf?

"Maybe once I reach the Capital, I can sell them there. Maybe some Public Market..." He blinked and pulled up another chat.

< Races: Online Universal Chat server sixty-nine >

"Um, hello there Respected Seniors!" He couldn't really be bothered with backreading, instead he needed to do this as soon as possible.

"Oh, who is this?" A [ Light Elf ] asked in the chat.

The [ Shadow Elf ] gave their response. "Human."

"Oh, we finally have a [ Human ]! Welcome~!" The [ Light Elf ] sent a cheerful emoji.

"Ah, thank you for the warm welcome!" Han replied to the chatroom. Did he come in a weird time? The ones he had previously seen active were nowhere to be found.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"What is your purpose?" A [ Tiefling ] asked this time.

It felt like he was talking to an entire new group of people—which was true, so there was more reason for him to tread carefully here.

"I'm here to look for someone to trade or buy the resources I gathered recently." He replied honestly this time, there was no need to hide anything. It was best to be direct and straight to the point.

The [ Light Elf ] was the one who responded immediately. "Oh? That sounds delightful! Trading is quite nice, are you a [ Peddler ] by chance, what wares do you offer?"

They seemed to be a nice one, though referring to them as a [ Peddler ] was a little…

"I have three Sage Grass and Gray Moss, two LumenFruit, a PoisonBerry and an Ashwood Bark. I'm not really sure if that's a lot though." He may have gotten too excited with the idea of trading.

"That's not really a lot." The [ Tiefling ] chatted, and despite it all being in text form, he could feel the spite in it.

Han sighed as he replied. "My apologies, I was just curious if it would be possible to trade. I'm a bit of a newbie here, Seniors."

"We're not really that old, right @ShadowElf?" The [ Light Elf ] tagged its fellow Elf.

"Hmm." That was all the reply from the [ Shadow Elf ].

It was a little put down that he initially wanted to play as a [ Shadow Elf ] but the one he encountered now didn't exactly fit his perception of Drow Elves.

"Regardless, this [ Human ] should at least learn more about how this situation works, this is one of the reasons why some [ Race ] get picked on." The [ Tiefling ] was suddenly a bit more willing to chat more.

Tieflings were… Well, Han Jing recalled them as something of fiendish nature, but this one didn't seem evil, if anything, perhaps it was only reluctance. He wasn't the only one dealing with them, they were also dealing with him. "My gratitude for the advice, I'll start to learn from now on."

They weren't that 'old' said the [ Light Elf ] and though he assumed that meant they were decades to even centuries older than him, it did feel like he was talking to youths rather than lecturing adults when he had encountered the initial [ Races ]. But maybe he was only taking their words at face-value.

"We apologize that we aren't able to Trade with you now, maybe next time! I don't really think we're in your area as well." The [ Light Elf ] added with a smiling emoji.

"Really?" Han asked, a little surprised. They knew where he was?

"The [ Demon Lord ] announced his skirmish with you at your village—and you didn't exactly shroud your presence. That was a little unwise." The [ Tiefling ] said.

"Stupid." The [ Shadow Elf ] added.

Han tried not to rub his face, he didn't exactly receive a Guidebook or Handbook to Newbies did he? And why was the Shadow Elf responding in one word answers… it was really ruining his perception of a 'cool' race. Maybe if they met in real life—within the game—one word answers would look cool, but in the chatroom? It was weird.

"Yes, I'm learning. I don't think you guys can tell where I am now, right?" He had to check if those configuration settings actually worked.

"You're in the [ Yegarian Kingdom ]." The [ Tiefling ] stated.

He didn't reply.

"Well, that's only because it'd make sense that you're still there. As someone who had only joined recently—I doubt you have a spell or scroll of teleportation to move. Humans are not typically able to grasp such things." The [ Light Elf ] continued and added an emoji with a sweat drop. "I do not mean to say that you guys are inept or handicapped."

Han tried to keep his face blank despite not being able to be seen. He was already forming his assumptions about these three—he'd been talking in the Universal Chat far longer than he intended to. He glanced out at his window, the sun was beginning to rise.

"It's alright [ Light Elf ], I was worried of receiving another attack and have tried to hide my exact location but not sure if it works." He answered. It didn't really seem like the ones in the chatroom were all eager to hunt him down, at least he hoped that they didn't.

"Hmm… I think you've managed to do it! It was possible to scry on you before without any need for name or identification—but now it's not possible." The [ Light Elf ] continued.

Han couldn't help himself. He really was imagining the [ Light Elf ] as a beautiful elven maiden with blonde hair and blue eyes now. It was much easier for him to visualize it and it wasn't like he could verify it. How odd would it be to ask if they were a male or female… 'There are no females in the internet', that was good advice that he needed to follow.

Ignore the fact that this wasn't exactly the internet but a simulation—

Did she just say scry?

"You guys were able to watch me during the attack on my village?"

"Yes." The Shadow Elf was the one who responded this time.

Did all of them watch? Did they simply watch the [ Demon Lord ] use his [ Gargoyles ] and launched an attack on his village?! Han felt a lurch in his throat, he felt something cold wash over him. People died! NPCs but they were people nonetheless—Timothy lost his mother. And the ones here were really just discussing it as if a simple event?

This realization only came to him right now, his earlier conversations in this universal chat had been him concentrating on his questions getting answered about the game but now it was all clear.

They all talked about what happened in the village as mere spectators!

"Um, not everyone watched it." The [ Light Elf ] finally responded, their answer now avoidant.

"We did and we decided not to interfere—though what the [ Demon Lord ] did was unfair, it was only a natural response. The Creators' purpose is not exactly imposed and only encouraged." The [ Tiefling ] responded in a matter-of-fact way.

The Creators this, the Creators that. Han rubbed his face, what was the purpose of this again? He tried to recall the contents of the email he received and during the 'tutorial session' of this—and received another popup in front of him.

[ Creators' Will ]

In the beginning and in the end is a Spark. All that Live have the Will of the Spark within them. And it is the Spark within each that Live, Think, Feel and Act that seeks to See Beyond The Veils.

This is the Will that Exists and Connects all that have the Will of the Spark across the Universe to Broker Peace and Harmony across the Endless Races.

"What?" This wasn't how Han Jing remembered things.