Goldshire

After walking through the forest for some time in the direction opposite the lake, they all caught sight of a broad, level road. It was not a modern highway, but the flat, sturdy stone-paved road was far more comfortable to walk on than the forest.

"Looks like this planet has a certain level of civilization."

The stone slabs beneath their feet had not been made with modern techniques. They felt crude and primitive. Considering this was a forest with no sign of human habitation, the fact that a road had been built into it proved that those who ruled this place had a certain civilizational foundation.

"What kind of world is this?"

Yinsen happened to be pondering how he should introduce this world.

He knew a little about Azeroth, but not in much detail.

In his previous life, he had followed the trend and played World of Warcraft for a while. But due to personal reasons, he had played on and off during the early days. By the time he had enough free time to truly enjoy gaming, the game had already passed its peak, and he had not spent much time studying its detailed story.

So his understanding of this world could not compare to the worlds they had visited before. He only knew some of the basic settings. As for exactly what stories had taken place here and what detailed settings existed, he was completely clueless. His memory might have been enhanced, but that only meant he could dig up things he had once known from the corners of his mind. Things he had never known would not simply appear out of nowhere.

"A world with a long history and many kinds of Special Energy."

Yinsen had some interest in the Arcane Energy, Shadow Energy, Holy Light Energy, and even Fel Energy that existed in this world. He did not necessarily need to learn and master all of them, but understanding some of each could help his own path of cultivation.

"That’s pretty vague, isn’t it?"

"Because I don’t know how to explain it clearly either." As Yinsen walked forward, he organized his thoughts and gave a simple introduction to the world. "The only thing I can be sure of is that we should be in a human nation right now."

Loki reacted the fastest. Yinsen’s words revealed something obvious: this world was home to multiple races.

"There are other races?"

"Elves."

"Elves?" Logan and Selene both turned to look at Yinsen. "The kind from fantasy novels?"

"Something like that."

Yinsen looked at the stone road beneath his feet. Since Elwynn Forest already had stone roads, that proved the Stormwind Kingdom existed. That meant he had not arrived in an era before humanity had risen.

Azeroth’s Timeline was extremely long, which was one reason Yinsen had not known where to begin. He had just overlooked that point. If humanity had not risen and the Stormwind Kingdom had not yet been established, then all of Elwynn Forest would have been primitive wilderness. Walking in the direction opposite the lake might only have brought him to the river at the southernmost edge of Elwynn Forest.

Fortunately, they had found this road. That proved the Stormwind Kingdom already existed, so the elves should have long since split into many branches.

"I wonder if there are Blood Elves at this point."

Besides that, he needed to determine whether he had arrived in a world centered around the game—or rather, the broader World of Warcraft setting—or the Movie Version of World of Warcraft.

There were some differences between the two. More importantly, if he had arrived in the latter world, he would soon run into the first war between humans and Orcs. Elwynn Forest would not be such a safe place then.

"We should keep moving. It’d be best to reach a town as soon as possible."

Since the Stormwind Kingdom existed, following this road would lead them to Goldshire, the transit town of Elwynn Forest. Goldshire connected to many directions and was Elwynn Forest’s most important transportation hub. Once they arrived there, Yinsen could judge which world he had entered based on the situation in Goldshire.

For now, he had no way to explain too much to the others. He could only introduce some basic facts, such as the existence of a group of mages who mainly wielded Arcane Energy. Powerful individuals among them could likewise shatter the barriers of space and travel to other planes, while some top-tier mages were so formidable they were practically gods.

"As powerful as gods?"

Loki was the most sensitive to such topics. He wanted to know just how powerful these so-called mages were. He was curious about the gods of this world.

Yinsen was not curious at all. He hoped he would never encounter this world’s gods, and preferably not run into any of the Burning Legion’s "vanguards" either. If possible, he only wanted to live quietly for a while, gather the knowledge he wanted, buy some local specialties, and then leave with everyone.

"This world looks peaceful on the surface, but its depths run very deep. One careless move could draw the attention of some extraordinary beings, and that would be a huge problem."

"How huge?"

"I can’t be sure that leaving this world would completely let us escape their sight."

That made Loki serious as well. He knew even his father, Odin, could not accomplish such a thing. Before coming here, Odin had explicitly told him that if he killed Yinsen, or if Yinsen died for any other reason because of him, then even as the King of the Gods of Asgard, Odin would have no way to bring him back.

Yinsen’s Plane Travel was an extremely powerful ability. He could freely travel to worlds that were nearly impossible to trace. In fact, it was only at this point that Loki learned of the multiverse, and that beyond it lay worlds even more vast.

If the Marvel Universe where Loki lived was compared to one of many small circles within a large circle, then Yinsen could travel beyond that large circle to another large circle.

Odin could break through the barriers between the small circles within the same large circle, but he could not step outside that large circle.

It was at that moment that Loki understood why Odin valued Yinsen so highly. It was also why Yinsen had been able to make Loki yield relatively easily before.

Perhaps Yinsen’s mention of danger had frightened them somewhat. Everyone became quiet afterward, except for the two little ones, Laura and Little Ou, who remained rather cheerful.

It was Laura’s first time in a forest like this, and she treated the trip as an outing. Little Ou liked the climate here: neither too cold nor too hot, neither overly humid nor dry. The air was fresh and the surroundings beautiful, so Little Ou ran around wildly, thoroughly venting all the excess energy that had built up.

"This little thing does nothing but eat and sleep every day. Why isn’t it getting fat?"

Likewise, Little Ou’s size had not changed much since they had found it. Could this little thing not grow up?

Infected by Little Ou and Laura’s liveliness, the others’ moods improved a little. They also realized that while this world held some risks, Yinsen had said that it appeared ordinary and peaceful on the surface. As long as they did not deliberately dig into its secrets or do anything suicidal, they probably would not run into trouble… right…?

"Why is everyone looking at me?"

Loki suddenly realized that he had become the focus of the group. Logan and Selene were one thing, but even Little Ou, the pet, kept glancing at him from time to time. What was that supposed to mean?

"Nothing. It just feels like something might be wrong."

After they continued onward for quite some time, Yinsen and the others still saw no sign of a town. However, faint smoke rose in the distance.

Walking along the road also kept too many trees from blocking their view. If they had continued through the forest, they would have had a hard time noticing the smoke even if it was visible in the distance.

The sight of the smoke gave them hope. It looked like they were not far from a town.

Those who had begun considering camping for the night abandoned that idea and decided to press on, hoping to reach the town before it became completely dark.

"I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Do we have this world’s currency?"

They had never been to this world before, and Logan had no idea what it used as its basic currency.

Yinsen was not worried. He knew this world primarily used gold, silver, and copper coins. As it happened, he had acquired quite a bit of gold and silver from Arthur, and since it had not been useful recently, he had simply left it untouched.

"There’s no need to worry about currency. This world also uses gold and silver as its basic currency."

After seeing the smoke, they truly were not far from Goldshire. After hurrying along for a while longer, they finally reached Goldshire before the sky began to darken.

Because they had all come from afar carrying packs, they drew the attention of the soldiers guarding the town’s outskirts. But when the guards saw that the group included men, women, and even a pet, they withdrew their gazes.

"Hello."

Not attracting the guards’ concern was a good thing. It meant they had not viewed Yinsen and the others as enemies. Still, Yinsen had to approach them and greet them, because the Goldshire before them was much larger than it had been in the game.

"Could you tell me where the inn in this town is?"

The guard was not surprised by the question. Perhaps he had served here long enough to see too many travelers ask similar things. He skillfully pointed Yinsen toward the Lion’s Pride Inn, and the landmarks he provided were all obvious and easy to find. Even an idiot would not get lost.

"Thank you very much."

After thanking the guard, Yinsen led everyone to the Lion’s Pride Inn. It was the largest inn in Goldshire and had the best facilities. Of course, to them, it was simply a small inn with a rustic atmosphere. Fortunately, it was clean and tidy, and the food it served tasted quite good.

After eating and returning to their rooms, everyone gathered in Yinsen’s room to discuss what they needed to do in this world.

"Maybe we should properly learn some things in this world… especially Logan and Selene."