Chapter 18 -

"Knock! Knock!"

While Jamaal was settling into the room he was going to live in for the next five days, a loud knock came from the door.

Getting up from the comfortable bed, he walked up to that very same door and opened it. Coming face to face with the knight that had somehow let the boy travel with him, give him a temporary stay and yet, Jamaal felt fear when near him, not in the way that he would hurt him but that he would find out and would do something. Perhaps not, one can never be too sure about another person.

Anyways, the teen let out a soft smile and spoke.

"Oh, Hey Arnold, What's your reason to come at this time?" He knew already what was to come. It was just a weird habit he had, not that many noticed it or cared about it.

"Did you forget Child? We are heading to the Amerlyn Crystal and then the Training Grounds. For the test and your level check." The deep-voiced man rumbled, looking back.

It was now that Jamaal could see how the knight looked like without his helmet. Despite him still equipped with the majority of the steel armour, his stout looking steel helmet had been taken off from its place, showing his facial features.

The man had short blonde hair and a short, neat beard. His green eyes seemed to pierce your soul. Or was it only like that for the boy?

He seemed human though which, compared to all the other creatures and species he had seen in this world, was quite a nice change. There was only once difference, the man had long, pointy ears, much like an elf. It would be ironic if he was an elf, but this world probably was a figment of his imagination so perhaps.

Either way, now wasn't the time for philosophical thinking, it was time for the Amerlyn Crystal.

"Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot." He lied, smiling a little, even if that smile was a bit forceful.

He knew the Amerlyn Crystal would say level four. He hadn't done anything to gain enough exp to level up to level five. However, it would still be interesting to see this Crystal he had heard so much about,

"It does not matter. That happens, let's hurry along." The man's voice had changed to a more refined, posh speech, quite unlike how it had been when wearing his helmet.

The teen followed Arnold down the wooden staircase, looking around at the various decorations. Despite the medieval tone and setting, the interior of the inn was quite modern. Quite unlike how he had expected it to be. Or how the books he had read on these themes and settings portrayed.

After reaching the bottom of the steps, the pair soon exited the building, hurrying down the stairs as Arnold led Jamaal along the stone pathway to a busier street.

As they moved along, the boy cautiously walked as close as he could to the knight, glancing around every few seconds in case anyone was following them. He was just a bit worried about thieves and the like. Luckily though, no one was following them and fortunately, that set his mind to rest.

A few minutes later, a large stone building with a thatched roof came into view, smoke arising from a multitude of chimneys upon the roof. It reminded the teen of a town hall from a game he used to play. He was a level seven town hall when he quit though. It became too repetitive and, because of that, it was boring for him to play.

There were a lot more people around the village hall too, from vendors that had set up their stalls to scholars who were entering the building. All sorts of people were around, a diverse atmosphere in the air. That was something the boy liked quite a bit due to its refreshingness.

They climbed the few stone steps of the staircase and entered through the large door in front of them, immediately entering into a long hallway with many people.

In the distance was a large crystal, implanted deep into the ground.

Where the Crystal was, the stone was caved in, cracked and seemingly radiating with a pure, lively aura.

The Amerlyn Crystal was purple, pulsing like a heartbeat as if it were alive, a gradual stream of people touching its surface for a moment before leaving. The was a stream of white particles and unknown runic letters circulating the strange yet beautiful artefact.

"You'll have to go up to the crystal on your own, I have some business to attend to so you will find me outside," Arnold said to Jamaal before hurrying away, leaving the poor boy to himself.

"Well then..." He muttered, following the line that led up to the Crystal.

"Hey, system? What will the Amerlyn Crystal do?" He asked in his head.

[My branch system will simply bring up a character sheet, less precise and detailed when compared to me but still satisfactory for the citizens of this realm.]

[It will, however, give you access to a few separate things that you can not get from this system. Though that is still worthless when compared to the value and greatness of the main-system; me.] The system added proudly, causing Jamaal to roll his eyes and get rid of his surprise from the whole 'branch system' talk.

"Whatever you say." He let out a short chuckle before walking up to the Crystal.

"Hopefully, this will go well. "

He put his hand on the purple crystal and suddenly, within his mind, a rush of information came forth. One especially being interesting.

"Title: "Survivor of the Overlord!"

"What... When did I get this?"