First Meeting, Again
She was standing in a cave next to a giant. The giant was crouching over her, so that all she could see for a moment was his chin. He leaned back and looked at her when she appeared. He had human-like features such that you could almost call him human except for the tusks jutting out of his lower jaw.
In reality, his face seems average until you look deeply. The face in front of her looked below average, if she was being kind, and got worse the more she stared at him.
It was probably on purpose. This way, he wouldn't stand out despite his size. People wouldn't want to look at him. That way people would avoid him due to his size and not gain any interest in him due to his face. It would be easier to do things under the radar. Of course, this would require the species in the game world to be so diverse that even a giant didn't stand out.
Su Ting had heard of many types of races in passing. Even if she tried to recall all of them, she wouldn't be able to.
Just as she was picking apart his choice and the effect it would have psychologically on the players and how he could use his appearance to their advantage, she heard a raspy voice call her name.
"Su Ting, this is Pan Bao and his brother Ti Du."
She noticed the names he'd spoken were longer and more intricate than the ones she heard. She was suddenly glad the game converts names into something she could understand. If not, she might have to tie her tongue in knots calling names like 'Howjcsoihgtsdrdp' or something. No wonder the game has such a setting. She didn't have to set it herself in Dependent Mode. It was automatically put into effect. She would not have even noticed the existence of a setting otherwise. Technology is so convenient.
Even as she wondered about the usefulness of such things, it still made shivers go down her spine.
Did humans think themselves so self-important that they couldn't even bother learning the culture and names of the races they interact with? Instead, they had them cater to humans.
She noticed another giant behind the first turn their way. She hadn't noticed him when he had his back turned to them. The voice didn't come from him, either. Su Ting turned around and looked up. Then she saw her partner. This time, she knew through the connection that it was him. It was as if she was looking at something familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Like seeing a store-bought loaf of bread after living off of homemade for their entire life. Although she knew who the soul belonged to, her brain crashed when she tried to make out his appearance.
"A spiky lizard horse?" Her eyes roamed over his body again and again.
He didn't move, allowing her to assess him.
"A Dragonkin." A stuttering, mellow voice corrected her. She looked over to the second giant. "Envoy, who is this Thumbelina?"
Another word that didn't look the same on their lips. 'Thumbelina' had been translated into something she understood. She had a feeling she should be slightly offended by the original word. Was the word the giant used a derogatory term highlighting her size? Although, she really was about the size of their thumb.
Who was Envoy?
Quan Zihao leaned over and scooped her tiny body up in one arm. Su Ting didn't even reach his waist when standing. She was set down on his forearm as if she didn't weigh a thing. She was pressed up against Quan Zihao's side suddenly. The armor on his chest was cold. Her face was positioned to just barely be able to see over his shoulder. She reached over his shoulder to touch his mane. His mane covered the back of his neck and disappeared into his clothes. What kind of creature is a Dragonkin? She looked up at his face again. His brows were angular scales looming over two sets of eyes with unusual pupils. The pointed scales were obvious against the softer scales of his face. His sharp brow made his otherwise gentle face look threatening. His brow ridgelines crawled up towards the back of his head where several sets of horns protruded from his head. Behind the horns was where his mane continued down his spine.
"She is my mate. We will rest first." He nodded to them and retreated further into the old building.
His two sets of eyes turned to fix themselves on her as they walked. "How was it?"
"Hm?" His eyes were on opposite sides of his head. To see her, he didn't even need to turn his head. She wondered what he would look like from the front.
Quan Zihao pinched her tiny nose gently with two knobby claws fingers to bring her attention back to the matter at hand.
Su Ting finally moved her eyes away from him. She had barely looked away since she first saw him. Had she stared too much? She hadn't even noticed. She touched her nose and turned to look at their surroundings.
They were in a huge, old building with no windows. It looked like a spaceship apart from the ground covered in hay, crudely crafted oversized furniture, and even a fox-like creature nesting in the corner. Apart from the metal the building was made of, it looked more like a barn or a forest hut. There was also a distinct stink in the air. She wiggled her nose.
As she looked around she noticed strange bugs in the air. They were like fireflies of different sizes and colors. Did the giants collect them? Or maybe they were their light source? They seemed to cluster around in unused corners. A lot of the red ones rested with the fox. Their colors seemed to differentiate the type they were. Green hung under the table with some yellow and blues. Yellows mostly seemed to like the corners of the room and doorways. The tiny gray ones were probably too young to have colors yet. They floated around the room, pushed by the wind here and there. They didn't even have the strength to fight the wind. How cute.
"Let's return. I'll make you dinner." He made sure she had no objections before using his Guardian authority to log them both out.
When she opened her eyes in the pod, her back against his chest, his arms wrapped around her, she realized what she had entered the game for in the first place.
She hadn't checked her items at all!