A SPECIAL FRIEND

Aildrin braced himself when Brom catapulted him through the bone gate. He covered his head with both arms and angled himself so his biceps could mitigate the damage from the impact. It was a good thing that someone opened the doorway from the inside.

"Skulls! We have a guest! Ilidran!"

Aildrin flew straight towards Papa Bear, who was on top of a bone table with a drinking horn in his hand. The orc welcomed him with arms wide open.

They crashed on the earthen floor amidst the rowdiness of brawl and orcish music. Then there was silence.

"A human?" someone from the crowd said. "A human!"

Then the chaos continued. Orcs hammered each other with their clubs and whatever their huge hands could get on while a band of musicians played music with their horn flutes and leather drums.

"Haha! Welcome to the T-Bone, Ilidran! Don't mind your smell! Have a blast!" Papa Bear said while standing up. Then when he regained his footing, an orc tackled him from the side. They then engaged in a fistfight.

"Silence!" It was Brom's booming voice. And everyone inside the tavern froze.

"Ah, Brom! The fun has just started! We've got a human!" a scarlet-skinned orc said. "Come here, you old snort! I thought you died fighting those Black Orcs!" He stood behind a bone-made bar top, cleaning a drinking horn while dodging flying axes. It was a good thing he did not display any fragile wares.

"Jakorn! Haha! This old snort won't die easily! Two horns of Roupoyn!" Brom said. He then glared at the dumbfounded orcs. "That human is the young master's guest! I'll smash the skull of anyone who dares to touch him! Resume the fun!"

"Skulls!" Papa Bear cried. Then the raucous resumed.

Brom grabbed the bewildered Aildrin and dragged him to what seemed to be a pelvis of a humanoid beast which served as chairs fronting the bar top.

"Do you like the welcome party, human?" Brom said. The counter rattled when he rested his mechanical arm on it. "This is a rite of passage for all visitors! Though it's a disappointment that you did not have your skull cracked."

Aildrin faked a laugh.

"Two horns of Roupoyn!" Jouporn reappeared from the back bar and handed the two with drinking horns. "It's on me! Enjoy!" He winked before disappearing back to his kitchen room.

"Have you tried this, human?" Brom said. He then chugged his part in one go.

"Ah, no," Aildrin said. He sniffed the horn's content. It smelled like cough syrup. But it looked like the green stuff in the orcs' sewer. "And I have no plans."

"Do you want your skull cracked? Drink it."

It was the very reason Aildrin hated being weak. "Sars, can you lend me some strength on this one?" he said through his mind. But there was no reply. He gave the oozing substance the last glance, then poured it into his mouth like a madman. A thick substance like phlegm passed through his throat.

"Bittersweet just like cough syrup," Aildrin thought. Ironically, he coughed a lot after his drink.

"Haha! Good!" Brom said in a cheerful tone. His face then turned serious when he returned his gaze on Aildrin. "So, tell me. How did you enter here, human?"

Aildrin looked through Brom's eyes. He wanted to tell a different story, but he could not bring himself to do so. "Secret portal."

"Hm. I only heard such things through tavern stories. Under whose orders?"

"Silas."

"That evil king! He never sent a single reinforcement when Lazybones got assassinated!" Brom crushed the drinking horn in his hand. He then grabbed Aildrin by the neck. "Human, I no longer care if you're the young master's friend! You must be killed!"

"Brom!" It was Papa Bear.

But Brom did not listen.

Blue electricity crackled inside the tavern. It came from Papa Bear, whose skin turned into silver. "Steel Bones! Rodeo Drive!" He then charged at Brom, but he could not move him an inch.

Smoke came out of Brom's nostrils. And his eyes turned red, like a machine ready to kill. He was about to squash Papa Bear to the floor when another voice boomed.

"Stop!" It was deep and full of authority.

Brom stopped, and his eyes returned to its original brown color. He then dropped Aildrin and bowed low while Papa Bear kept on hammering his raised arm.

When players leave the Open World, they will reappear to their last spot upon return.

Everyone inside the tavern bowed on their knees except for Papa Bear and Aildrin. The latter was still on his back recovering his bearing.

"Bertran, what's the meaning of this? Why are you and Brom in a battle?" the deep voice said.

"Big Brother! Brom hurt my friend! Brom is bad! Papa Bear is angry!"

"Bertran, stop it."

Papa Bear harrumphed and finally withdrew his strike. The surrounding electricity disappeared, and his skin returned to blue. "Did you win?"

"No. We lost. I'm sorry, Bertran."

"It's okay, Big Brother. I'll join next time so you won't lose again." Papa Bear then rushed to the towering orc clad in golden armor and hugged him.

Aildrin who just recovered his senses backed away from Brom. But when the current situation finally set in, his gaze turned to where the orcs bowed.

It was Armada's Guild Leader, Ogni.

Aildrin did not know what to do. So he followed and bowed too.

Ogni's heavy boots clacked while he marched towards Aildrin. "No need for such formality. You're no NPC, are you?" The giant orc smiled at him with an extended arm.

Aildrin grabbed it, and Ogni pulled him up.

"Everyone out! T-Bone is mine today!" Ogni said, and the orcs quickly left the tavern, including the owner, Jakorn.

Aildrin was about to leave too when Ogni said, "Not you, Ilidran. Stay and share some food with me. Jakorn, who will serve us food if you're not here?" And so the owner scrambled back to his kitchen.

"Thank you." Aildrin bowed.

They then settled themselves before the bar top.

"So tell me, how did you and Bertran get to know each other?" Ogni said.

"Ilidran is a special and powerful friend, big brother!" Papa Bear said, cutting Aildrin who was just about to speak. "His eyes can glow red, and he moves in a flash! Ha! But Papa Bear is still the stronger one!"

Aildrin smiled. It finally made sense. Judging by the protectiveness from Ogni, Papa Bear or Bertran as he had heard his name reminded him of his particular classmate back in elementary.

"Bertran is autistic," Aildrin realized. He then answered Ogni's question. "Bertran and I became teammates in my first war."

"Hm. Bertran seldom calls people his friend. I wonder what you've done for him. And aren't you too high level for a Rookie Rank?" Ogni said, checking Aildrin's details with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Ah, that's something even I don't understand," Aildrin admitted.

"Oh, so you're a rookie-rookie, yeah?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Good, it's gonna be a long lecture so enjoy the food," Ogni said when Jakorn arrived with a big pot of warm soup and bowls of exotic food. "The food here in the virtual world somehow restores our stamina in actual life, so eat no matter how they taste."

Aildrin nodded. He then feasted on the worm and unidentifiable leaves in his bowl. Somehow, he was grateful they tasted like chicken and lettuce.

When they've finished their share, Aildrin immediately asked about the things that bugged him while Papa Bear fell asleep. "How does the level system here works? I can't seem to find any experience bar or the like."

Ogni grinned while caressing the head of his little brother. "In the Open World, you get what you kill. Be it an NPC, player, or a monster from the abyss. But in the War Room, your first match would be the only thing that would give you experience, and the rest would only affect your rank."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You get the level of the monster or NPC that you slay. I think you've killed-steal a high-level NPC for you to reach level fifty immediately. Am I correct?"

"I see. So if I'm level one right now and killed a level two-hundred, I'd immediately get his level?"

"Yes, but technically, that would be impossible. The levels are there for a reason. It says something about your strength. What I meant was that if you killed a level two-hundred if that's really possible with all your effort, by this, I meant that one hundred percent of the damage came from you, then you can instantly reach the maximum level."

"Hm. So there's no such thing as exp-sharing in this world?"

"There is. But in proportion to the damage you've dealt."

For the next hour, Aildrin kept on asking questions and finally understood how the player-system worked and its integration with the NPCs and their roles. He also received tips from Ogni on how to reach the peak level as quick as possible.

Then the bone-gate flew open. It was Brom with sweat all over his face. "Ogni! An army of Black Orcs has breached our first line of defense!"