Chapter 1 | Fear Not, Witch — A Player Is Here to Rescue You

Sunlight from the first day of summer vacation squeezed through the gaps in the curtains. Wu Yao squatted beside her holographic pod, slotting three months' worth of nutrient fluid into the compartments on the side of the pod, one tube at a time.

Once everything was ready, she lay down comfortably inside. As the pod's canopy slid shut, the noise of the outside world was completely sealed away.

This summer vacation, she was going to lock herself in this pod, losing herself in a holographic game to heal her work-battered body and soul.

A pale blue light screen expanded before her eyes. Twenty-three unread emails sat in her inbox—now twenty-four.

She bypassed the spam advertisements and clicked on the latest email from [???]. The subject line read:

【《Elderan: The Eternal Moon》 Limited Closed Beta Invitation】

Wu Yao raised an eyebrow. What kind of game was this? She didn't remember pre-registering for it.

The email's preview image expanded automatically. A silver-haired woman stood atop a high tower under a full moon. Moonlight poured down from above, bathing the entire tower in silvery white. The staff she held glowed with the brilliance of a flowing galaxy.

Below the tower lay an endless fantasy continent. An emerald forest stretched out like a carpet to the horizon, while distant mountains were capped with snow. Shadowy silhouettes of various creatures emerged one by one.

Every single frame was as exquisite as conceptual art.

Intrigued, she clicked to open the email.

【Dear Player Wu Yao:

Congratulations! Based on the analysis of your past gaming profile, you have been selected to participate in the limited, non-wipe closed beta of 《Elderan: The Eternal Moon》.

In Elderan, you will experience:

A true open world—no forced main storyline, no invisible walls. From the Emerald Forest to the Far North Glaciers, every inch of land is open to you.

A deep magic system—here, you will feel the breath of the elements and weave your own spells. From apprentice to master of laws, you will forge your own magical legend.

A realistic ecological evolution—magical creatures live and breed here, and NPCs have their own complete life paths. Every choice you make will truly change history.

A fully immersive holographic experience—the latest neural-link technology, 100% sensory synchronization, adjustable pain settings, and a time flow rate of 1:24 (1 hour in reality = 24 hours in-game).

...

Here, you will become the eternal moonlight of Elderan.

Exclusive closed beta benefits:

Limited Title [The Eternal Moon]

Closed Beta Gift Pack: Random Epic Item ×1, Basic Building Materials ×100, Basic Ingredients ×100, Random Magic Seeds ×10, Silver Coins ×100

Confirming participation constitutes agreement to the 《User Agreement》 and the 《Neural-Link Safety Guidelines》.

[Download Now] [Remind Me Later] [Decline Invitation]】

Wu Yao stroked her chin thoughtfully and clicked 【Download Now】 without hesitation!

The download speed was blazing fast. Wu Yao didn't have to wait long before she successfully logged in.

Her vision was suddenly emptied, leaving only a silver-glowing moon hanging directly overhead. It was incredibly massive, looking close enough to touch, with the textures on its surface clearly visible.

Wu Yao looked up and marveled at the game's art. To make even the login screen's moon look this exquisite, they must have poured an insane amount of money into it.

【Welcome, Player. Establishing neural link... Connection successful!】

【Randomly generating attributes...】

Deep blue ripples expanded outward circle by circle, carrying tiny points of light that lit up one after another. She looked down to see an entire galaxy slowly flowing beneath her feet.

In the void directly ahead, light particles gathered from all directions, stretching into a thin film of light. Its surface then became smooth and flat, its edges rippling slightly as if it might dissolve back into light particles at any moment.

The light mirror reflected a tall youth wearing the system's default clothing. To the right was a semi-transparent attribute panel, with lines of data popping up one after another.

Wu Yao looked at herself in the mirror. Her facial features hadn't changed much. The collar of the white shirt fit snugly against her neck, the fabric casting a soft glow under the starry sky. It was a clean, sharp cut. Below, she wore neat black trousers with a black sash wrapped around her waist, and a pair of short boots on her feet.

It was a very simple and clean outfit, and Wu Yao was quite satisfied with it.

【Basic Attribute Generation Results】

【Strength: 4 Agility: 4 Constitution: 3 Mana: 4】

【Intelligence: 1 Perception: 3 Charisma: 3 Willpower: 2】

【Total Points: 24】

【Enter Game】【Reallocate】

Wu Yao stared at the glaring 【Intelligence: 1】 and fell silent.

“...What kind of garbage roll is this?”

As a gaming veteran, she could guess the general uses of these attributes based on typical game design.

Since she was aiming to be a mage, she absolutely had to roll an attribute set with maxed-out Mana and Intelligence!

After multiple 【Reallocations】, she finally got her dream stat block.

【Strength: 1 Agility: 1 Constitution: 1 Mana: 10】

【Intelligence: 8 Perception: 1 Charisma: 1 Willpower: 1】

10 Mana was the limit of the roll, not her limit.

As for whether having such low Strength and Agility would affect her monster-hunting?

What a joke. Who did they think they were talking to? She was a noble mage!

【Please enter character name.】

“Wu Yao.”

【Character Name Confirmed: Wu Yao】

【Level: Lv.0】

【Experience: 0/200】

【Faction: None】

【Reputation: 0】

【Loading world...】

【Synchronizing senses...】

Her vision fell into darkness once more. Wu Yao habitually moved her body, waiting for the game to start.

Then, she smelled smoke—a choking, thick smoke with the scent of pine resin and tar.

She snapped her eyes open. Coarse hemp rope was wound tightly around her chest and abdomen, binding her securely to a wooden stake. Beneath her feet were bundles of stacked firewood. Oil-soaked strips of cloth hung from the woodpile, their ends already being licked by flames.

Beyond the firelight was a sea of different faces, each with a semi-transparent white ID floating above their heads. Their mouths opened and closed, their voices crashing over her in layers, merging into a synchronized shout.

“Burn the witch!”

“Purify the evil!”

Wu Yao's first reaction was to pull up the game system. The transparent system interface brought her an unparalleled sense of security.

In this near-real illusion, the log-out button reminded her that this was just a game, and she hadn't actually transmigrated.

Without a second thought, Wu Yao saved her game first. This game only had a single save slot, so she couldn't keep thirty or forty saves like she used to in other games.

【Save Point Created: The Stake】

Wu Yao locked her status bar to the top-left corner so she could see her stats in real-time. Her pain sensitivity was set to 10 by default.

The flames still flickered beneath her feet, but Wu Yao had completely relaxed. The system's dialogue interface flashed frantically before her, like an old television with a bad signal.