Chapter 43 - COMING OF AGE CEREMONY
Chapter 43 – COMING OF AGE CEREMONY
WHEN Luo Yan went back to the village, the first thing he did was go to the Pharmacy, Weapon's Shop, and General Store looking for an artificial beast incubator. But all three said that they didn't have such item in their inventory. After that, he guessed that the item was most likely only available at a big town. Such as Olkdale.
It's really probably time for him to leave this village. He stayed here for five days. Which was just the right amount of time, considering that he only played for about three to four hours everyday. And since, he and Luo Jin already talked about meeting at Olkdale Town tomorrow, it's just right to leave here now.
Now, before he could leave, he'd have to do that coming-of-age ceremony that the Elder had been wanting him to have.
With that in mind, he walked towards the Elder's yurt.
"Noctis, have you decided the date of your coming-of-age ceremony?" asked the Elder as usual.
"Yes, Elder," Luo Yan answered. "Is it possible to do it now?"
"Of course. But please wait an hour to let us prepare."
Luo Yan raised one of his brows. An hour? Since this was a game, he thought that the preparation would just automatically be done after he told the Elder that he wanted to have his coming-of-age ceremony now. But it turned out that he still have to wait for an hour? Was it designed like this so it could give the game a tad bit of realistic feel?
At the end, he just shrugged. He had no problems waiting for another hour. He could just go to the forest and kill some monsters.
And that's what he did.
He grind levels and killed monsters for an hour. After he's done, he leveled up again and was now level 14.
Only one level left and he's already qualified to apply for a class. In Arcadia, a player needed to be at least level 15 before they could have their own class. When he played the PC version, each class had a trial task. Once the player successfully finished the trial, then they would be promoted to the class they wanted. There was no limit on the number of times a player could undergo a trial. So they could do it as many times they wanted until they passed. He's just not sure if it was still the same in this VR version.
Luo Yan started walking back to the village. When he entered, he almost stepped back again when he saw the colorful decorations inside. There were different kinds of flowers everywhere, attached to the cottages and trees around the village. There were small blue and white lights floating in the air. There were even festival flags. Luo Yan was taken aback by this sudden festive atmosphere.
Okay…
He only left for an hour and they had already prepared so much? And here he thought they were going for a bit of realism. Before he could think more, the Gatekeeper who was now back at his post suddenly approached him.
"Noctis, what are you still standing there for? Come, everyone is waiting for you," the Gatekeeper said.
Everyone? Luo Yan didn't have time to ask because the Gatekeeper already pulled him inside the village. As they walked, he noticed that he hadn't seen a single passing NPC walking around. Which was unusual since he always saw four or five NPCs walking about.
The Gatekeeper pulled him towards the Elder's yurt. He thought he would have to see the Elder first before the ceremony began. As they got closer, he heard sounds coming somewhere near the yurt. The Gatekeeper did not stop at the yurt as he thought and bypassed it. He pulled Luo Yan towards the area behind the yurt.
Luo Yan had never been there so he was really surprised by what he saw. The area was actually a huge garden with a lot of those similar white flowers common in the village. And now, this garden was currently filled with a lot of people. Some were arranging the food on the long banquet table, some were holding musical instruments, the younger ones were playing and laughing with each other. He even saw Filli among those youngsters. It's like every NPC in the village was here.
When they saw Luo Yan, almost everyone surrounded him and congratulated him.
"Congratulations, Noctis! This is really the right time for you to have your coming-of-age ceremony," one said.
"You're our village's most promising young elf, I'm certain you will bring honor to us," another one said.
A lot of the elves agreed to this statement. Luo Yan just smiled and thanked them.
"Okay, everyone should disperse, unless you want Noctis to feel suffocated," the Elder's voice rang, making the elves surrounding Luo Yan disperse and make way for him.
Luo Yan finally saw the Elder. He was standing at a make-shift altar and beckoned Luo Yan to him. Luo Yan obediently went. As he got closer, he noticed that the flat rock the Elder was standing on had some big circular symbol engraved on it. The design was intricate and a bit complicated. He guessed that this must be the portal that would bring him to Olkdale Town.
"Are you ready?" asked the Elder when he reached the altar.
"Yes," Luo Yan answered.
Then the ceremony began. It started with everyone praying to the moon goddess, thanking her and asking her to bless the young elf about to go off on his own adventure.
Luo Yan who was kneeling in front of the Elder felt that his knees were starting to get sore. He'd been kneeling for quite some time now and he couldn't help but wonder when would this prayer be over. Surely it wouldn't last for an hour. Just as he was thinking about that, one of the NPCs walked towards the Elder. He was holding a tray and on top of it was some folded white clothe.
The Elder took the white clothe and presented it to Luo Yan. "Noctis, this robe is a symbol of an adult moon elf. Wear it with pride and honor."
Luo Yan accepted it. "Thank you, Elder."
"And now, to conclude your coming-of-age ceremony, please accept the blessing of the moon goddess."
The Elder then put his hand on top of Luo Yan's head. He suddenly felt something warm coming from the top of his head and then filling every part of his body. He was not afraid because he instinctively knew this was not a bad thing.
After the warm feeling disappeared, a notification box suddenly appeared in front of him.
[Congratulations! A Unique Skill – Shadow Walk has just been activated!]
Luo Yan didn't have time to check the skill out because the Elder suddenly pulled him up.
"Everyone, the moon goddess just gave her blessing. Let us all congratulatge Noctis!" he said to the crowd and everyone just cheered. He turned to Luo Yan and said gently, "You can now go to Olkdale Town. All you have to do is stand in this place and this array will automatically send you there. Remember to take care of yourself and that you can come back here anytime you want. Because this village will always be your home."
What Luo Yan understood from the last thing that the Elder said was that the teleportation portal from Olkdale Town to here would always be open. Now, he didn't have to worry that he wouldn't have another chance to come back here again.
"Thank you, Elder. I will definitely come back here." For the dragon, he secretly added to himself.
The Elder only smiled. "Go and celebrate with the others."
Luo Yan nodded. But before mingling with the other NPCs, he opened his Skills Tab first and went straight to the Unique Skills option.
Shadow Walk
– A skill unique to moon elves. With this skill, you can freely enter the shadow of anything or anyone. It would allow you to hide in their shadows. But be sure that the shadow is big enough for you to enter. Continue to increase its level and maybe one day you could freely walk inside the shadow world.
Level: 1
Current effect: Could last until five minutes.
Cool down: 5 hours.
This was actually a pretty good unique skill. Especially appropriate for the Assassin class he's planning to choose. It's like this race was really made for him. Luo Yan couldn't help but let out a silly grin.
Then he went and partied with the other NPCs.