Chapter 31 The Fairy Market
Li Wen, after taking care of her personal physiological needs in reality, returned to the game just as dawn was breaking.
She checked her status. Her life had dropped to 34%, and her mana remained at 10/20. This was normal, as life and mana did not automatically recover offline.
After considering it, she used a Prayer to restore her life to over 80%, getting her out of the seriously injured state, so she wouldn’t be easily killed by a surprise attack.
Afterward, Li Wen left the cave.
Outside was a forest filled with plants Li Wen didn’t recognize. At first glance, there were no traces of humans. So, she could only head in a direction that looked like an exit.
The dense, primeval forest had no paths, forcing Li Wen to use her Bone-Corroding Short Sword to cut through bushes or vines blocking her way to proceed. This undoubtedly added to her already weak stamina.
“You can’t go in like this.”
After Li Wen painstakingly cut down another crooked-neck tree blocking her path, a sharp, piercing voice came from somewhere.
Li Wen stopped and looked around but couldn’t see anyone speaking.
“Here! Here!”
This time, the voice’s direction was more obvious and closer. Li Wen looked down and found a small, humanoid creature with green skin, no more than half a meter tall, hiding in the grass and looking at her.
Could it be a Dwarf Fairy?
Dwarf Fairies are a type of fairy. They are usually very small, with striking green skin and pointed, elven ears. They are widely distributed in the Kingdom of Arthur, and sometimes they can even be seen in civilian homes. Some say they are skilled at thievery and full of lies, while others say they hide stolen Gold at the end of the rainbow. More often, people avoid mentioning them.
“This is Mr. Bird. If you want to participate in the market, you need to show proof. Otherwise, you cannot break into this forest sealed by magic.”
Sealed by magic?
Li Wen frowned, “I just want to leave here.”
“Then you took the wrong road. The way out is in the opposite direction!” The Dwarf Fairy then muttered something in a language that sounded like fairy slang.
So that’s why the path became harder to navigate the further she went; she was going the wrong way. Li Wen understood and nodded.
“What market are you talking about?”
After getting the information she needed, Li Wen began to focus on other things.
“It’s a market held by the fairies! Mr. Bird is responsible for stopping uninvited guests!”
Fairies do not have market culture; this was likely learned from intelligent races like humans. Fairies inherently possess magic and like to collect strange and magical items, so many Transcendent individuals try to participate through various means.
“Then how can I qualify?”
The Dwarf Fairy in front of her didn’t seem very bright, so Li Wen abandoned the idea of leaving immediately. She hadn’t obtained her End Original Text yet. To enter the Amber Temple and to deal with other situations, Li Wen needed to stock up on magical materials at this market. It would be even better if she could find some useful Magical Items.
“It’s the Winter Cherry Leaf after Grandma Martha cast her spell, like this one!” The Dwarf Fairy produced a palm-sized leaf from somewhere. Faint blue mana could be seen flowing faintly along the veins of the leaf.
“Do you have many of these leaves?”
“Of course! Mr. Bird is specifically in charge of this. Everyone who is invited must hand over their Magic Leaves to me.” As if to prove it, the Dwarf Fairy conjured a pile of similar leaves and held them in its hands. “Ha, I understand you want to get these leaves from the clever Mr. Bird, but I’ll tell you, that’s impossible!”
After saying that, the Dwarf Fairy muttered again in the fairy language, appearing very anxious.
“…Ah, of course, nothing is absolute. If you can correctly answer Mr. Bird’s riddle, I’ll let you in!”
Fairies love to test other intelligent races; it’s unclear where they learned this bad habit.
“Alright, ask away.”
“Hmm, let me think about how to pose the question. It definitely can’t be too simple, otherwise Grandma Martha will surely blame me…”
Li Wen didn’t expect to answer the Dwarf Fairy’s riddle correctly. So, while the Dwarf Fairy was distracted thinking about the riddle, she quickly stole a leaf from between its fingers. The Dwarf Fairy remained completely unaware.
Nimble Hands and Professional Pickpocket are known as the most suitable traits for new players for a reason. Even when Li Wen first started playing in her previous life, the first suggestion in the beginner’s guide was to choose these two traits.
“Got it! I ask you: If you don’t speak, you speak my name; but you must speak it. However, if you can speak my name with words, it will be a miracle.”
“I don’t know.” Li Wen was too lazy to answer and directly handed over the leaf she had just obtained. “But I have a Magic Leaf. I am invited, can you let me participate in the market?”
The Dwarf Fairy stunned for a moment. With its not-so-bright brain, it was hard to detect any problems. It was just sad that no one could answer its riddle. “Of course, fairies welcome any friends, except for the red-skinned杂碎 from Purgatory…”
The leaf in Li Wen’s hand broke free uncontrollably and imprinted itself on a large, ancient oak tree in the distance. With a flash of light, a tree hollow large enough for one person to pass through appeared on the oak tree. The tree hollow was deep and dark, leading to an unknown destination.
“Welcome! Welcome!”
Several more Dwarf Fairies hopped out of the tree hollow, welcoming Li Wen into the unknown world. They jumped to Li Wen’s front and pulled at her cloak. After finding they couldn’t move it, they turned and went back into the tree hollow.
Li Wen didn’t hesitate and followed them in.
Unlike the disorienting teleportation experience in Amber City, Li Wen only felt a blur before her eyes and arrived in a brand-new world.
Various strange and exotic plants formed a magical forest. For example, there were giant mushrooms tall enough to serve as houses, nameless trees with soft and damp branches like tentacles, and plants with eyes on their flowers that seemed particularly shy.
As well as various types of fairies, hopping or flying around.
Li Wen wasn’t surprised by any of this. This place had not deviated from the mortal realm. The fairies used magic to transform their forest habitats. And long ago, before Arthur was called Arthur, this place was already the realm of the fairies.
Li Wen looked at the only road in this magical forest. At the end of the road was the center of the forest, surrounded by abundant flowers and lush vegetation. She could already hear the lively clamor of people.
Thus, Li Wen, who was already filled with anticipation, became even more curious about what she would see here.
