The group passed through the forest until a small village came into view.0

Ketal murmured under his breath, “It’s a tiny settlement.”0

Yet, the place looked nothing like any village he had seen before. The other towns Ketal had visited were all clean and well-organized, with carefully planned houses and orderly roads, almost like miniature-planned cities.0

However, this one was very different. Houses were scattered randomly, and the narrow lanes threading between them appeared to be little more than trampled paths. Large boulders jutted out here and there as if no one had bothered to remove them.1

Ketal took in the sight and said, “It doesn’t look like the village is in good shape.”0

Many of the homes, made of wood and straw, leaned so precariously that they seemed ready to collapse at any moment. It was an aging, rickety village hidden in the depths of the forest. Ketal gave a quiet smile.0

A place like this is a must in a proper fantasy world, he mused. He felt oddly satisfied, but a question lingered in his head. “Why is there a village here, of all places? It doesn’t look like a viable location at all.”0

The poor terrain didn’t lend itself to farming, and communication with neighboring...0