After that, Arthur put the device down and finally stood up and stretched his limbs. “Ok, let’s get ready to get inside the game. It’s still pretty early, but I have a lot to do inside. I can’t slack.”
Although Arthur was very exhausted, he was equally motivated. He wanted to get back in the game and finally start his exploration of the city. The Capital Of Glory was awaiting and calling for him with all its secrets and adventures.
‘Less than a month for my meeting with Nina and Miro. During this time, I will have to get as strong as possible. With practice, and leveling up… Who knows how I will be in a few weeks.’ Arthur thought to himself as he walked into the bathroom to take a shower.
After that, he made a simple dinner before he finally approached his FIC. Looking at the time on his device, it was almost 8 PM. Looking through the window at the clear dark sky, Arthur took a deep breath.
“Ok, here we go.”
Then, he sat inside the capsule and closed his eyes. Everything turned dark again and Arthur found himself in a completely different place. But, it wasn’t the city or any other place he was familiar with.
Instead, it was a completely dark world.
“Huh? Where am I?”
The moment he asked that question, a notification appeared in front of him.
[Update detected!]
[Please wait a moment as the game finishes updating.]
Then, a loading bar appeared at the end, slowly ticking up as it downloaded all the important files.
“Oh, so this is ‘Guild And Wealth’ update?” He muttered as he watched the loading bar go up faster and faster. A minute or so later, it reached the end and then another notification appeared.
[Download completed!]
[Welcome back, Player Arthur.]
[Please, fill up your bank details to apply the Conversion System.]
“Bank details, huh? Ok, sure.”
Although Arthur was a little hesitant, he still trusted that the game wouldn’t rob him. ‘There is nothing to rob to begin with.’ He shrugged as he tapped on the list and started filling in the information. He luckily memorized all his bank details just in case a long time ago. His grandma was very persistent about it.
After making sure that he put everything correctly, he clicked on confirm.
[Ding!]
[Information has been updated!]
[Conversion System has been activated.]
[You can access the conversion option through your settings.]
[All money converted shall be sent to your account immediately.]
[Guild option has been added to the main menu.]
“Ok, that’s good,” Arthur muttered. “I don’t think I will need this Guild system any time soon. But, it will definitely be interesting to see what people are going to do.”
The Guild system was indeed the true beginning of conflict among students. All the powerhouses in the world will certainly create guilds and scout top players to start dominating the Divine Realm.
‘The capital might be empty still, but when everyone arrives, this will become a goodman battlefield.’ He smiled. At the same time, the dark world he was in slowly vanished as Arthur’s eyes closed again.
When he opened them this time, Arthur found himself in a more familiar place. The white color of the capital’s snowy region welcomed him with a gentle embrace. The time was night just like the outside world.
The city was as bustling as ever with humans going about their night. The shops opened everywhere and filled his eyes, the orbs of light floating in the air lit up the streets. The noise all around him made Arthur freeze for a moment.
There was simply a lot to take in, and with that giant structure looming in the distance, Arthur was unable to snap out of it quickly.
“… Ok, what should I do first?” He muttered as he started walking through the street. His feet left behind a deep trail in the thick layers of snow. He kept looking around him, stopping to check every interesting shop he saw.
He found weird food of all kinds. Clothing shops selling thick leather coats for the cold weather in the region, weapon shops, spell shops, and many more. Arthur found himself eager to buy many things, but he decided not to do that yet. He had to first map the city and discover everything about it.
For instance, Arthur realized that people were using weird-looking creatures that appeared like a mix of horses and lizards. They were massive in size, towering over him with ease. They carried goods through the snow with ease as if it didn’t feel cold in the weather.
‘They look so majestic for some reason… What are they even called?’ Arthur thought to himself as he watched another one pass by casually. He was certain there were more creatures he had never seen before roaming this city.
‘There are several other regions. Each one must have its culture and unique things. I can’t wait to see them all.’
As Arthur continued wandering through the city, he found himself a little far away from the main street. He was following his instincts and moving toward every single interesting thing he found.
“Hm, hm… Where am I even? I definitely moved far away from the main street.” He muttered as he looked around him. There were still people roaming the streets, but it was less active than the main street.
“Hey, young lad! Do you want to try our special grilled ribs?!” Hearing one man calling for him, Arthur looked at him.
*Sniff*
Smelling the flavorful grilled meat, Arthur was immediately enticed to try it. “How much is it?”
“Three copper coins, my friend!”
“… Give me two!” Arthur said as he approached the man and gave him the money and was handed two skewers of meat.
‘This looks really good.’ Arthur gulped as he was about to take a bite from it. However, at that moment, Arthur suddenly sensed something behind him. Quickly, he turned around, only to get pushed back as someone ran past him. For a second, he lost his balance as he stepped back.
Then, he felt one of his skewers getting snatched from his hand before the person vanished as fast as they appeared.
“Huh?! Hey, wa-”
“Get her!”
“Don’t let her run away!”
Before he could even react, a group of men rushed past him, following the small boy or girl.
“… What the hell is going on?” He muttered. “That bastard stole my food!”
“Hey, young lad, it’s ok, I will give you another one.”
“What?! No! That bastard stole my food!” Arthur yelled as he turned to look at the merchant. However, he was shocked to see the pale look of fear on his face.
“Trust me, man. Just buy another one. It’s better.” The man said. “Don’t mess with those people.”
“… Who are they?” Arthur felt something click in his head. ‘The tingle… This is very interesting.’
Arthur didn’t even need to think twice to realize that this was a potential quest or something else that could be very valuable. He knew that doing the opposite of what this man was telling him was dumb, but Arthur didn’t forget what The Founder had told him.
‘Follow your heart.’
“It’s ok, I know what I’m doing, old man. I’m going to get my skewer back.” Arthur tapped the man’s shoulder before he ran away.
“Hey, wait!” The man tried to call for him, but the boy had already vanished before he could even finish the sentence. “God… How foolish he is!”
***
“Hah… Hah… Hah…”
She ran, her breathing was subtle but very exhausted. Her feet were bleeding and cold from the snow. Her frail body was shuddering from the freezing wind. She didn’t know how she was still conscious, but she was running.
The adrenaline in her body didn’t stop pumping as she heard the echo of people yelling behind her. The voices of those people were chasing her, getting closer and closer.
She was scared. Terrified. She knew that if they caught her this time again, she would be tortured brutally. They won’t spare her this time and she was aware of that risk. But, what else could she do? She didn’t want to stay there, getting killed slowly.
That was not life, and she was not ready to spend the rest of her short lifespan in that place. She would rather try to escape, again and again and again till they give up or she dies. There was simply no way for her to let them win.
She passed beside countless people, people who looked at her with disgust. Her attire was dirty and her hair was messy and bloody. She didn’t care about their scorning gazes.
Taking a turn, left and right, she tried to lose her pursuers, only to be faced with a horrible reality. A dead end. She had taken a wrong turn and ended up in a closed alley. Quickly, she tried to turn around and escape, only to realize that the men had reached her and closed the path.
“There she is!”
“You aren’t running anywhere!”
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3