Volume 5 Chapter 1: Nals

“This is…” Qin Lun recovered from the mental pause of space-time travel and looked around.

It was an elegantly decorated bedroom. There was a double bed, built-in closets, a notebook-style computer on the nightstand, and a liquid crystal TV on the wall…Everything felt so natural. Qin Lun felt as if he had returned to the Earth Federation several hundred years ago.

Back then, Earth was not unified. There were hundreds of countries in the world, and conflicts between nations were constant. They still used the Gregorian calendar, also known as the Common Era. Judging from the liquid crystal TV, the notebook computer, and the interior decorations, this otherworldly realm was in the late stage of the third technological revolution, which was the information technology revolution.

“Another parallel world of Earth?” Qin Lun frowned slightly and muttered to himself, “Did I guess wrong?”

He had once speculated that for Junior Apostles of human origin, the Shattered Starry Sky would always transport them to Quest Worlds with human historical backgrounds. Only when human Apostles reached a high level, gaining stronger abilities and knowledge of laws, might they be permitted to enter Prime Material Worlds with other cultural backgrounds.

This time, however, was different. This time, their team included the couple Sas. Although the people of Esmira Star were also classified as human, their main living area was under the sea, so their interior decorations definitely wouldn’t be exactly the same as Earth humans.

“This is… a waterbed!” Qin Lun sat up with confusion and patted the bed beneath him. Before he could get off, he felt an unusual sensation on his body.

He looked down and lifted the blanket. His eyebrows immediately shot up. No wonder the Shattered Starry Sky arranged the teleportation point here. He was completely naked, without a single thread on his body.

“Not bothering to conceal the equipment and skills of Apostles is one thing, but not even providing the most basic set of clothes, just lazily throwing the Apostle into a native’s room—is there a more stingy boss than this!” Qin Lun grumbled silently in his heart. He got out of bed, opened the closet, and searched for suitable clothing.

“None of these are my type!” Looking at the rows of crisp suits, Qin Lun sighed helplessly, completely unaware that he used to wear the same two prison uniforms for a whole year.

He casually picked out a shirt and a black suit, then turned to look at the dressing mirror attached to the closet. After just one glance, a look of surprise appeared on his face, and he couldn’t help but reach up to touch his ear.

The “person” in the mirror only resembled him about seventy percent. Although the outline of his eyes and brows still bore some resemblance to him, he was much more handsome than the ordinary-looking Qin Lun. His features were delicate, with silver hair and blue eyes. Most importantly, his ears had slender, pointed tips.

“Not concealing equipment and skills also includes bloodline!” A prompt from the Shattered Starry Sky flashed through Qin Lun’s mind, and he instantly understood. This was his true appearance after obtaining the Moon Night Elf Bloodline.

“So, my judgment was still correct!” Qin Lun frowned and bit his fingernail. “Since the Shattered Starry Sky exposed my Elf Bloodline, that means this world isn’t only inhabited by humans. There might be a very rich variety of Sapient Races…It’s just that the cultural background is human-dominated, similar to Earth.”

“If this is such a complex world, the Shattered Starry Sky provided too little information. There should be hints somewhere else…” Qin Lun turned around in the room and finally fixed his gaze on the notebook computer on the nightstand.

“This antique seems a bit like the Optical Computers from the Earth Federation. I just don’t know how to use it?” Qin Lun tried to open the notebook. Fortunately, the laptop started up on its own immediately. A short documentary introducing the world’s background appeared on the screen.

“Nals World!” Watching the documentary, a look of keen interest appeared in Qin Lun’s eyes.

The surface area of Nals was more than ten times larger than Earth’s, with land and ocean areas being roughly equal. Just as Qin Lun had guessed, there wasn’t only one race of humans. Here, they were divided into three major systems of Sapient Races.

The Sapient Races that thrived in plains and the lower delta regions of freshwater rivers consisted of two races: humans and Orcs. The Sapient Races living in forests and mountainous areas were more diverse, including Elves, Dwarves, Centaurs, Trolls, and so on. The last category consisted of the Naga race, which lived in the ocean, and the Draenei, who closely resembled the people of Esmira.

From ancient times to the modern society of today, the history of Nals World was somewhat similar to that of the Earth Federation. It had also experienced several world wars between nations and races.

It wasn’t until the year 4603 of the Nars calendar, with the development of productive technology and the progress of social civilization, that the various Sapient Races of Nals World and the nations they established finally ended the wars, signed treaties, and restored world peace.

Today, the major Sapient Races in Nals World have basically eliminated racial opposition. Major countries have strengthened communication and exchanges, and no longer restrict immigration or interracial marriages. The common people of the various Sapient Races in Nals World can freely choose to live and work in other countries.

“Something seems off!” After watching the information video, Qin Lun’s eyes flashed. He frowned and carefully examined the Otherworld Mission and prompt information that had just appeared in the Death Notice.

“Apostle 70053, you are currently attached to the Black Iron Team YD1255, and have triggered the team Guidance Mission ‘Mystery of Crystal Lake.'”

“Mystery of Crystal Lake (Sergeant Major Rank): John and his wife from Massay State took their whole family on a vacation outing. After getting lost on the way, they mistakenly entered the Crystal Lake Campground, an area restricted by the Louis State government. One week later, the Louis police who came to rescue the John family only found the fragmented remains of John and his wife’s bodies at a messy campsite. The couple’s two sons, Karl and Sam, and their young daughter Lucy were missing. There was no trace of them at the scene, as if they had vanished from the world.”

“Mission Objective: Uncover the Mystery of Crystal Lake and find at least one of Karl, Sam, or Lucy!”

“Hint: Since YD1255 is a newly established Black Iron Team, you must complete this Guidance Mission within the one-week stay period to officially unlock the team’s Main Quest and update the stay duration!”

“Mission Reward: 10000 Shattered Crystal, 500 Exchange Voucher, 5 Contribution Points. Mission Failure: The Leader loses 50 Soul Lifespan, Soul Life Limit reduced by 20 points; other members lose 30 Soul Lifespan, limit reduced by 10 points. Black Iron Team YD1255 will be forcibly disbanded.”

World Scenario: Nals

Time: 4871 Nars Calendar, Geng Month, 12th Day, 9:00 AM

Location: Suburbs of Crystal Lake City, Louis State

Main Quest: None yet

Warning: There was minor interference in the space-time transmission data. The World Scenario has changed to Team Competition Mode. Team members cannot kill each other, otherwise 100 Soul Lifespan will be deducted. Different Apostle teams may engage in mission competition. Killing Apostles from other teams has a chance to drop random items.

“Just as I thought!” Qin Lun smiled slightly, putting the expected warning aside, and began pondering again about what felt wrong.

“Where exactly is the problem?” Qin Lun thought about the hints in the Death Notice while searching aimlessly around the room.

After a while, his thoughts still hadn’t produced any leads. Instead, he found some green currency in the nightstand worth about 500 Riel, and an ID card with his own photo on it.

Riel was a circulating currency in Nals World, with purchasing power similar to the British pound in the Earth Federation. This money and the ID card were probably all the help the Shattered Starry Sky was giving him.

“Detective Castro from Massay State… Is this my identity now?” Qin Lun looked at the ID curiously, then stuffed it and the cash into his shirt pocket.

“Qin Lun, we should get going!” A loud shout from Hill suddenly came from outside the room’s window.

Qin Lun raised his eyebrows and walked to the window to look out. His room was a third-floor bedroom in a manor Villa. The window faced the lawn in front of the manor gate. A cement driveway ran through the center of the neatly trimmed lawn, leading straight to the iron gate. There was also a small fountain in front of the Villa’s main entrance.

Two cars were parked on the driveway in front of the fountain. One was a silver sedan, the other a black off-road vehicle. Their styles were somewhat similar to the antique internal combustion engine cars of the Earth Federation, just with bodies a size larger.

This place should be the residence of some wealthy family. Perhaps the owner was out, and the servants were on a long vacation. So, it was used by the Shattered Starry Sky as a temporary teleportation point.

At that moment, Hill and Hansen were standing next to the off-road vehicle, while the other silver sedan contained the couple Sas. Sas’s face clearly showed a trace of impatience.

“Sorry, I’ll be right down!” Qin Lun smiled and waved to everyone. But when his gaze swept over the couple Sas, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

“That’s it, I know what’s wrong!” A glint flashed in Qin Lun’s eyes.

Although Nals World had many Sapient Races, its cultural background was very similar to the Earth Federation. Its technology was roughly at the level of Earth’s 1990s, fitting the description of the third technological revolution.

However, just this alone didn’t match the characteristics of Esmira Star. The Shattered Starry Sky wouldn’t match the couple Sas to this Quest World just because the people of Esmira superficially resembled the Draenei of Nals.

Besides technology, Esmira Star also had a highly developed magical civilization, in the early stages of the Magic Web’s birth, almost approaching a Mid-Magic World. The magical civilization of Nals World was already in the stage of Magic Web popularization. In other words, it was a genuine Mid-Magic World.

The part that felt wrong to Qin Lun was that the room he was in showed no traces of magic, not even a single low-level magical item. This manor Villa was a modern building. The complete absence of magical items didn’t match the Shattered Starry Sky’s description of Nals World!

“The Sergeant Major rank Guidance Mission is of the first difficulty tier. It’s unlikely that the Shattered Starry Sky would start playing puzzle games at the initial teleportation point. This should just be a very ordinary residential building. In other words, our understanding of the concept of a Mid-Magic World and Magic Web popularization might be mistaken…” Qin Lun narrowed his eyes slightly.