[Virtual World] Cyber Abyss Volume 3: Guild Wars

Chapter 4 - Cyber Raid

3.4.1---------------------------------------------

The city of Goldmoor was famous long before the founding of new Tokyo as it was once called the Land of Gold or Dread. Once a gloomy uninhabitable forest full of dead woods and broad mists, old villagers of Goldmoor always lived in terror and dread. As terrifying turn of events terrorized them day by day.

It was a story all started when villagers noticed a limping man, mindlessly walking under the sun. He was cross-eyed, drooling from his own saliva after he came out of the woods. At first, the villagers thought the man was just lost, fooling around as he was limping endlessly around the village all day long. But as limping man continued his frightening stroll to eternity, villagers started to be frightened.

Sometimes, the limping man would try to pass a wall or a tree, crashing its body like a mindless, walking corpse. And sometimes, the limping man would unintentionally crawl inside huts, scaring children to death. Until the man finally fell on the only drinking well near the village.

Villagers sought help from their own healer, an accomplished acolyte known throughout the land. And, as the villagers retrieve the limping man from the well, they found out the man's right arm was turned into pure gold. Not only that, but the man was completely broken, couldn't think and do anything straight but say 'The Golden Garden is real!'.

"The Golden Garden is real!"

That incident sparked the curiosity of villagers living in Goldmoor. Almost half of them were farmers and hunters that were always working, going back and forth through their farmland and the dead forest near their village. But none of them even encountered a simple garden in the middle of the rotting woods. What more of a golden garden.

Thoughthe incident spread like wildfire throughout the land.    

The story of the limping man became famous. It indeed captured the attention of men, women, children and even the nobles living far away from the village. Though some were afraid and terrified, but few were brave enough to set an expedition through the uninhabited woods of Goldmoor, wondering what was the so called Golden Garden was all about.

Starting that faithful day, countless brave souls dared to explore the heart of the woodland to find the legendary garden. And for the past few years, countless mindless body of explorers whose body parts were turned into gold, came out of the forest of death.

With each of them only uttering the phrase 'The Golden Garden is real!', none of them found a strong evidence that could prove the existence of the Golden Garden.

After a near decade of misfortunes, a famous hero bravely entered the deadly woods of Goldmoor with his men of knights. Bringing hope within the place, the villagers thought that finally, someone could unveil the secrets within the woods of Goldmoor.

But after the hero departed, none of them ever came back. As well as the everyday victims of the so called Golden Garden ceased to exist, until all of them became stories of myths and folklore, forgotten after the founding of new Tokyo.

Felicia Ella then turned on her flashlight and pointed it to her face.

"And that's the history of Goldmoor City."

"Felicia-san. I know you wanted to scare us to death but... it's broad daylight! You should tell that fake story of yours when we camp tonight!"

"But that's the story my mother told me when I was still a kid."

"This is a city full of concrete establishments built all over the land, pretty much the same as the capital, Felicia-san! It's obvious there are no Golden Garden or witches stuff around here!" replied Camella.