Game of the World Tree

Such a good looking kid, but it’s a pity that his manner of speech is way too crude.

Watching Demacia get shut down by the two female players, his face full of frustration, Li Mu couldn’t help but smile ruefully as he shook his head.

He rejoined their conversation and exchanged a few words to ease the awkward air brewing within them, then walked with a few guildmates towards the place where the most members of Heart of Nature have gathered…

Quite a few members of the Heart of Nature had decided to participate, and as expected, Li Mu’s arrival naturally caused a bit of a stir at the scene.

Being the Guildmaster of Heart of Nature, he quickly mingled with his fellow guild members he’s familiar with, filling their gathering spot with laughter from time to time…

Then, just as Li Mu was becoming more acquainted with the members of his guild and sharing camaraderie with them, a surprised feminine voice rang out from behind him.

“Brother Mu! Is that you?!”

Li Mu turned his head to see a young girl in a purple evening dress, surrounded by a group of players, walking towards him.

She appeared to be in her teens, standing out like the star of the event. Her delicate, doll-like features carried a touch of youthful innocence within them, making her seemed both elegant and childishly adorable.

Her side-parted curls added a hint of maturity to her features, and this blend of subtle innocence and sophistication she exuded combined seamlessly, making her appear not only more lively and vibrant but also an exceptionally beautiful young lady.

A girl of this age with such an aura…

Moreover, those obviously expensive-looking clothes…

And that highly recognizable high-pitched voice…

Could she possibly be—

“Little Salty Cat?”

Li Mu raised an eyebrow.

“Bingo! You got it! My real name is Chen Guoguo, but you knew me better as Little Salty Cat~! Haha, after working together for so many times within the game, I finally get to meet you in person, Brother Mu!”

The girl looks visibly excited to meet him, which made Li Mu inadvertently smile back in response.

“Yeah! I didn’t expect to be playing a game with someone so young… haha, it makes me feel a bit old.”

“Hmph! I’m not that young anymore!”

The girl pouted with her cheeks puffing out adorably.

Then, she clapped her hands happily and linked arms with another girl who appeared to be around twenty years old.

This second girl was about 1.7 meters tall, with a fresh and clean appearance.

Her hair was tied in a sleek ponytail, and she wore a thick eye glasses which gave off an impression of both competence and an intellectual beauty.

“Brother Mu, can you guess who this is?”

Little Salty Cat asked with a grin.

Li Mu was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and replied,

“Could it be HootyBird?”

There are only a few female players who get along so well with Little Salty Cat, and the most likely one would definitely be HootyBird.

…Or it could also be Feng.

However, Li Mu felt that this intellectual-looking girl in front of him had a temperament that really reminded him more of HootyBird.

Feng, on the other hand, despite always seem to be cordial and smiling about, have always struck him more as a mysterious person, especially in the way she keeps hiding her strength even though she’s probably the strongest druid player on the entire server.

Quite frankly, Li Mu could never quite figure that woman out and sometimes, he even found himself feeling a bit uneasy around her…

It’s kind of odd, really.

To be able to exude such a profound presence, most likely she hold some important position in real life.

Which makes him wonder what Feng does for a living to have such an aura within the game…

Hearing Li Mu’s guess, the girl in the glasses gently nodded politely.

“Gu Qing, username: HootyBird.”

So it was indeed her.

Even though her introduction was somewhat brief and her voice revealed a bit of nervousness, Li Mu could still sense a trace of joy in her tone.

Well, after all, she was an old friend of his within the game.

In fact, the two of them had often teamed up to take on Saint Alice’s daily tasks like caring for the children…

Uh…or more precisely, the elven children.

Even though they had never met in real life, they were very familiar with each other’s voices.

“Haha, it’s nice to finally meet you in person, the top scholar of ElvKing!”

Li Mu joked with a smile.

After chatting for a bit, his gaze briefly lingered upon the remaining members of the Moe Moe Committee, who were standing behind Little Salty Cat as a sudden thought entered his mind.

“So, did Boxlunch not make it this time? And what about Feng? Didn’t you say she put a lot of effort into helping you organized this meetup?”

“Feng sadly couldn’t make it due to some personal matters,”

Little Salty Cat pouted.

“Captain couldn’t come either because something apparently came up at his home,” chimed in by another voice.

Li Mu looked over and saw that the one who responded was a tall, slender young man.

He seemed to be about seventeen or eighteen, with a refined, scholarly air as he gave Li Mu a warm smile that radiated a unique, bookish charm.

Whilst smiling shyly at him, this person briefly introduced himself.

“Hello, Brother Mu. I’m Calabash, but real name is Hu Lu.¹ Ummm..yeah… it’s a play on words. My hobbies are gaming and reading, although… ever since ElvKing came out, it seems like gaming is all I do now…”

“Calabash?”

Li Mu’s eyes lit up.

“So it’s actually you! One of Boxlunch’s fellow teammates, and the strongest mage in the entire server!”

“Oi, hey! The strongest mage is obviously me! My magic power output is over a thousand points higher than his! Plus, I have the highest kill count on the battlefield!”

Little Salty Cat interjected, clearly dissatisfied.

“Come on, Cat, that’s only because you’re relying on your pay-to-win gear too much.”

Demacia teased with a grin.

But his remark earned him an eye roll from Little Salty Cat.

“Demacia, your discount is revoked for the next two days.”

“Whoa! Cat, really? I’m sorry, it was a joke!”

“Hahahaha…”

Laughter filled the room, growing louder as more players approached the group, introduced themselves, and offered their greetings.

Li Mu, being one of the most renowned players in Elven Kingdom, basked in a steady stream of adoring attention, as he enjoyed their every bow and compliments.

During all this, he also met with some several old acquaintances he had fought alongside with inside the game—most were male, but there’s quite a few females as well, some are outgoing while others were more reserved on their greetings.

Nonetheless, they were all equally excited and enthusiastic to meet him.

He even encountered Transformer Ji Gang, the Guildmaster of Autobots, who was actually a bright, sunny boy of about eighteen or nineteen in real life, just shy of starting his first year of college soon.

Of course, he also ran into Tomato StirFry, with whom he had never really gotten along with.

This combat-focused player, who always seemed a bit gloomy inside the game, turned out to be a baby-faced young man in real life!

The two of them even had a drink together, finally putting their past differences to rest.

After all, Elven Kingdom was unlike any other game.

While there are certainly competition brewing among the playerbase, the need for cooperation stood out more as the importance of teamwork became crucial elements for overcoming the game’s challenges and achieving objectives.

Moreover, the influx of new players during the fourth beta had made the older players instinctively band together.

In this context, any past conflicts they have against each other gradually faded away after sharing a drink, becoming nothing more than a distant memory.

And as the two of them savored their drinks, time continously flowed on, as more and more players began to fill the venue…

Myriad of people arrived one after another as young students, some barely in their teens, mingled with much older participants, including impeccably dressed men in their forties.

People of every gender, age, and profession had come together, united by their shared passion for a single game.

It was a truly remarkable sight.

Most notably, when a player first arrived, typically they often felt nervous, hesitant, and even slightly out of place.

Yet, as they began to meet their in-game friends and started calling each other with their usernames instead of their real names…

A sense of familiarity and closeness began to blossom in each person, bridging the gap between everyone.

As a result, the entire venue was soon enveloped in laughter and joy.

Speaking of which, although most of the people here had never met in real life, they might actually know each other better than some of their real-world friends.

After all, to become friends in a virtual world, you need a certain level of compatibility.

And given the right opportunity, it’s only natural for such friendships to extend even into the real world.

Whilst silently observing everyone mingle and bustle about, Li Mu sat on a sofa at the venue, sipping a slightly sweet fruit wine.

He looked out at the lively scenery before him, listening to the constant laughter and the excited shouts of people playing board games and other such fun activities.

Inadvertently, the smile upon his face grew increasingly gentle.

Being part of this game…

Is such a wonderful thing.

— 400 —

【 OFFLINE MEETUP (PART THREE) 】

¹ ‘葫芦‘ (Calabash) and ‘胡陆‘ (Hu Lu) pretty much sounds the same thing.

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