The First Step!

Thud!

Within the vast cosmos, a meteor streaked past, bursting from chaos into the universe and hurtling toward a land where life and disorder intertwined.

The disturbance quickly caught the attention of certain beings.

Soon, a vast gaze descended, carrying waves of music that rose and fell.

Thus, the meteor was drawn in and merged with it.

An unprecedented new syllable was born, circling outside the grand symphony, complementing its melody—novel yet harmonious.

"Acceptable."

The owner of that gaze withdrew its attention.

Whoosh—

Achievement Unlocked: "Enter Middle-earth!"

Description: Enter Middle-earth.

Huh?

The wind, the grass, rustling leaves, birdsong...

And a warm sensation on his face.

Li Wei opened his eyes, and sunlight suddenly stabbed into his nerves, forcing him to squint again at once.

Only after a while did he adjust to the light and begin examining his surroundings.

The first thing he saw was a line of small text in front of him.

"An achievement?"

Why did this style look so familiar?

Middle-earth...?

Li Wei got to his feet and took a deep breath. The air was incredibly fresh, carrying the faint fragrance of grass and soil. It was far better than his shabby little home.

He was standing beneath a tall oak tree, and as far as he could see, there were green fields in every direction.

Li Wei was certain there was nowhere like this near his home.

Had he been kidnapped, or had he sleepwalked onto a plane and flown abroad?

Li Wei was utterly confused. He tried hard to recall what had happened before, but he could not remember a thing. His mind was completely blank.

His last memory seemed to be... playing Minecraft at home?

Minecraft, a famous sandbox game suitable for all ages.

The game had accompanied Li Wei for nearly half his life. He had been playing it for ten years, from the first time he touched it until now.

Even though he spent every day facing nothing but repetitive pixel blocks, he had never grown tired of it.

Wait!

Li Wei suddenly froze and looked at the line of small text before him.

The text was slowly turning translucent and fading away, but the moment he focused on it, it abruptly reappeared.

"Isn't this Minecraft's achievement system?"

Startled by the discovery, Li Wei suddenly noticed a transparent prompt in the upper-right corner of his vision:

Beginner Tutorial: Open your inventory.

Inventory?

At Li Wei's mental summons, a familiar interface opened.

Three rows of inventory slots and one hotbar.

There was also a slightly blank-looking full-body image of Li Wei in the upper left, with four armor slots beside it.

After closing the inventory, Li Wei discovered an additional row of Health Bar and hunger icons in his field of vision.

Perhaps because he had been unconscious for too long before waking up, his hunger bar had already dropped by half.

Did I transmigrate into a game?

Just as Li Wei wondered whether he should try punching some wood first to make a Crafting Table, a voice suddenly called out to him.

"Hey, um, are you all right?"

Language Module Loaded

As the voice rang out, another prompt appeared.

Li Wei jumped and looked around, but he did not see anyone.

What the hell?

"I'm down here, sir."

A hand waved twice in front of him.

Li Wei lowered his head and met the eyes of a... well... little person.

"Sir, are you all right?"

Li Wei did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked the person before him over in confusion.

First, there was his height—only reaching Li Wei's waist.

Judging by his voice, mature face, adult clothes, and the fish hanging from his belt, he clearly was not a child. Then there was only one possible explanation—

Dwarfism.

Li Wei's expression turned serious, and he nodded.

"Hello."

"Uh, Mister Human, have you run into some trouble? I mean, are you lost or something...?"

Mister Human?

What a unique form of address.

Though it felt strange, the appearance of this short man gave Li Wei some reassurance.

At least this was not some uninhabited wilderness.

"Yes, I am lost. Could you tell me where this is?"

The short man blinked. "Oh, this is the Shire. More specifically, Hobbiton."

No.

What was that supposed to mean, the Shire?

A flood of memories surged into his mind.

The Shire... The Lord of the Rings...

Li Wei stood there in a daze.

He hurriedly looked down and examined the person who stood only as high as his waist.

The height of a child, large feet, hair on those feet, and slightly pointed ears.

A Halfling.

Or rather, a Hobbit.

So this was that Middle-earth?!

Li Wei froze again, unsure whether he should be happy or worried.

Middle-earth—also known as Middle-earth—in The Lord of the Rings films, this beautiful land had practically been his dream place to live. The scenery was breathtaking, and all kinds of interesting people and events could be found there.

But that was only something to dream about.

Li Wei was fairly self-aware. He knew that with his abilities, even if he came to Middle-earth, he would only be an ordinary man.

And ordinary people in Middle-earth did not exactly live peaceful lives. If they were not careful, they might get killed by Orcs or some evil force that appeared out of nowhere.

This land was not peaceful.

Seeing Li Wei spacing out again, the Hobbit in front of him scratched his head.

This human looked rather dull. Had he hit his head?

Hmm... black hair, strange clothes, gentle features—he was unlike any human he had seen before. He must have come from somewhere very far away.

The Hobbit studied Li Wei curiously, then thought for a moment before speaking again.

"Sir, if you are looking for somewhere to stay, perhaps you could try the inn in the village. And Bree lies east of here. There are many humans there, so perhaps you would prefer that place?"

"Ah, thank you. I understand..."

Grrr...

Before they could exchange more than a few words, Li Wei's stomach suddenly churned and let out an embarrassing sound.

The atmosphere instantly became awkward.

The tall man and the short man exchanged a glance.

The Hobbit looked at Li Wei, then lowered his gaze to look at Li Wei's stomach.

"Uh, I was planning to make fried fish and potatoes tonight. Would you like to come to my house and eat with me?"

Li Wei wanted to decline the polite offer, but his rapidly bouncing hunger bar had clearly thickened his skin.

If his hunger bar emptied, he would start losing health.

He immediately said, "Then I'll be troubling you."

The Hobbit was taken aback, as if he had not expected Li Wei to actually accept.

The faintly conflicted expression on his face made it obvious that he regretted making that extra polite offer.

"Then please follow me. But the ingredients I bought earlier are probably only enough for one person, so we will need to go back to the market. I'll have to trouble you to come along..."

The Hobbit rambled as he led the way ahead.

Li Wei followed shamelessly. Before long, he saw rows of Hobbit hole-houses appear before him. After crossing a bridge and walking a little farther, they reached a bustling market, where crowds of Hobbits moved back and forth.

Li Wei followed behind the Hobbit. Since everyone here was a Halfling, his height stood out especially sharply, and he had to keep his head lowered to watch where he was going.

Humans were rare in the Shire, and curious gazes swept across Li Wei one after another amid the bustling market.

"Are you a wizard?"

At last, a Hobbit child could not resist running over and asking with wide, curious eyes.

A wizard? He meant Gandalf, right?

"No, I'm not." Li Wei waved his hand, but before he could say more, the child was dragged away by his parent.

By then, the Hobbit who had invited him to dinner had finished buying groceries. He called out to Li Wei and headed out of the market.

Finally leaving the noisy market, Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief. At least he no longer had to keep his head down.

After a while longer, the two stopped in front of a Hobbit hole.

"This is my home, sir."

The Hobbit opened the door and went inside, but did not forget to turn back and add, "The ceiling may be a little low for humans like you, but you should have no trouble coming in and sitting down."

"It is still a little early for dinner, but afternoon tea will be soon. Perhaps we can have something else first."

Li Wei bent down to enter, gently closed the door behind him, and stared around the little house with undisguised curiosity.

Why did this feel a little familiar?

Li Wei's attention was drawn to a small wooden chest by the door.

Hmm?

He suddenly said, "Forgive me. My name is Li Wei, but I never asked for yours."

The Hobbit had just placed the ingredients in the kitchen. Seeing Li Wei introduce himself, he turned around and formally replied, "Oh, hello, Li Wei."

"I am Baggins."

"Bilbo Baggins."