Although Valyr was the one driving the carriage, causing a bit of unease in Tryndall as he tried to rest, not much happened during the rest of their journey, only having to stop at some point as the sun had set. As they had set up camp for the night near the road they were traveling on, the two of them continued to talk for a bit more, with Valyr doing more asking rather than talking.
Nevertheless, Tryndall did not mind the small interrogation they had, instead finding it refreshing as he had been traveling alone for quite some time. With all of Valyr’s questions answered, as well as Tryndall’s boredom appeased, they eventually ate their dinner and fell asleep, knowing that a long day awaited them once they woke up.
Fortunately, the weather was quite pleasant by the time they had woken up, prompting them to return on their journey without much problems. Unsurprisingly, Tryndall took over the reins and drove the carriage to its final destination. However, Valyr was there by his side, allowing them to idly converse as their destination gradually got nearer and nearer.
Eventually, once the sun seemed to be an hour away from reaching its zenith, the two were greeted by the sight of tall stone walls from a few kilometers away, enveloping what seemed to be a small yet lively settlement. Noticing this, Valyr could not help but look at Tryndall, who looked back at him before lightly nodding. “If you’re thinking what I’m thinking, then yeah. That’s the place, alright.”
“Up ahead, Astarto Village.” With a grin, Tryndall used the reins to give the horse pulling their carriage a signal, notifying the latter to hasten its pace. In response, as if it had been waiting for this moment all this time, the horse hastily sped up as it made the carriage slightly shake, wanting nothing more than to end the journey once and for all.
With that, their carriage had traveled the remaining distance within a matter of minutes, prompting Tryndall to pull on the reins once they were around a hundred meters away from the village gates. Sensing something pulling on its mouth, the horse slowed down as fast as it had sped up, reducing their speed to a trotting pace as the carriage entered Astarto Village without much problems.
While they were gradually making their way deeper into the village, Valyr could not help but look around, finding it somewhat nostalgic to be in a starter village once again. ‘Of course, unlike last time, I’m now an NPC, not a player.’
Then again, that change did not stop him from admiring the sights that the humble village offered, showing him a lively settlement that seemed to be self-sufficient. Most of the buildings within his field of vision were made out of roughly cut stone, with roofs made out of thatched wood. And, as far as his eyes could see, the village seemed to only span a kilometer in diameter.
Nevertheless, a light smile could not help but creep up on his face, prompting Tryndall, who glanced at Valyr for a bit, to lightly smile as well.
Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end, with the carriage stopping in front of what looked like a three story building made out of chiseled stone. Realizing what was happening, Valyr looked at Tryndall before nodding, getting off the carriage to allow the latter to do what he had to do.
As Tryndall got off the carriage to haul the hay from the carriage into the building in front of them, he decided to ask Valyr something. “So, what are you planning to do next?”
“I’ll probably stay here,” said Valyr in response. “Although I’ve definitely enjoyed your company during the latter portion for this journey, I don’t really want to become a burden for you. I’ll stay here and establish a foothold of sorts. Perhaps, by the time you get back here, I might surprise you.”
Hearing his words, Tryndall could not help but let out a hint of laughter. However, this laughter did not contain any mocking intent whatsoever. Instead, it contained feelings of interest towards the words Valyr had just uttered out. “Is that so? Well, if that’s the case, I might probably surprise you by the time I get back here as well. Wanna bet on who’ll surprise the other more once we meet up again?”
“I’ll probably take you up on that.” Valyr grinned in response, feeling like the person in front of him was a friend he had made years ago, even though they’ve only met for a day.
With their conversation done, Tryndall went ahead and hauled the hay from his carriage into the building, coming out a few minutes later with a smile on his face as he looked at Valyr. After that, he rummaged something from his pocket before throwing it at Valyr. “Here. Catch this.”
“Hmm?” As Valyr caught the item that was thrown at him, his eyes could not help but slightly widen in surprise before looking back at Tryndall. “Are you sure?”
“Take it as a thanks for accompanying me throughout the journey,” replied Tryndall. “Don’t go using that money in indulgences, you hear?”
“I won’t.” Valyr wryly smiled in response while looking at the item, a small money pouch, once more. Opening it, he counted the number of coins that were in the bag, which amounted to 100 copper coins. Inwardly nodding as he placed it in one of his pockets, Valyr then gave Tryndall a long embrace as the two were about to bid farewell to each other.
However, before the two could truly part ways, Tryndall stopped Valyr, telling him, “Ah! Before we forget, let’s add each other on our friend list first.”
Hearing that, Valyr nodded in response as he pulled up the system, adding the man in front of him into his friend list. While doing so, he could not help but realize once more about how the NPCs in Greater Beyond were far more realistic than any of the other NPCs he had come across in other games.
According to what the company mentioned in his previous life, each of the NPCs in Greater Beyond had brains powered through quantum supercomputing, allowing their movements, actions, and responses to be as lifelike as possible, making the players feel like they were talking to actual humans in the game.
Though, their uniqueness didn’t stop there.
Aside from being incredibly lifelike, they also had access to almost all of the features players had access to, including the system. With that, it was no surprise that there existed some parties in Valyr’s previous life that was composed of both NPCs and players. In fact, some NPCs were even part of the rankings due to their illustrious achievements.
Looking at his friend list gain the name of the man before him, Valyr nodded at Tryndall once more as he finally bade farewell, turning around to walk around the village as he could not help but mutter sometime later, “It seems I should really start getting stronger.”
Ding!
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Friend List:
[Tryndall Valtherin] – Level 7, Rank 0 Class — Civilian
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“Once we meet up again in the future, you’ll definitely be in for a surprise, Tryndall.” With that in mind, Valyr closed the screen in front of him as he walked around the village for a while, eventually finding himself in front of a building that seemed to stand out among the other buildings in the area.
For one, the material making up the building gave off the feeling that it was sturdier than the stone making up the other buildings. Not only that, but a wooden sign stating the building’s purpose could be seen on top of the building’s entrance.
“Astarto Guard Barracks…” Valyr murmured as he read the text written on the sign. Afterwards, a knowing grin appeared on his face as he walked into the building.
“This is the place.”𝒪𝔳𝓛xt.𝑐𝐎𝓶