Unending surprises
The pains of the battle from before were still very marked in my body. That punch Scaren had hit me wasn't holding back, that… I tried to get in the best position I could to take a good look at who this person was sitting. He appears to be a foreign man, because of his hair and clothing, who is armed at his waist with an oriental-style sword and a bandaged staff. Is he one of those famous swordsmen warriors from the Nihentoraku region? But would he come all this way just because of the Tower?...
The room is lit with small candles in small pots, the outside looks like daylight due to the lighting from the curtains, but the room is in very good condition for sleeping. He appears to be using a pestle and in front of him is a small table the height of someone sitting on the ground with some plants. I think he took care of us himself...
/Tech!/
Oops! Damn, I accidentally hit something with my hand... Before he turns to look at me, I pretend to be still asleep...
- I know you're awake, but feel free to rest...
Damn, he realized! But he looks like he hadn't turned to see me… is it any of those swordsman sensory techniques? From his voice, he seems to be young, a little older than me. Being a swordsman at that age makes him quite amazing...
- How did you know I was awake?
- There's a mirror here on the table, I saw you moving through it.
I think I gave too much credit... and I hadn't seen the mirror '-')...
- Who are you?
- First rest well and when you're better we can talk more.
- You took care of us, right? Thank you very much…
- No need to worry, it's something I usually do, so you can say it was just my job.
He seems like a good person. I'll take his advice and wait for my wounds to improve a little. Before, I think it's better to check my sword, despite being someone nice, I can't be careless...
I check the surroundings if I can find my sword, but I can't find... does he...
- If you're looking for your sword, it's in a safe place, but I can deliver you if you're worried!
- I just want to check if it's in one piece, the last battle was very complicated...
I sure as hell can't leave her with someone I don't know.
He then got up and left the room. This would be a great opportunity to look for something suspicious, but I'm not in a good condition for that...
I managed to stay seated this time to get a better look, he is really preparing a medicine, but the things he is using look very strange!...
There's a small frame with a picture too… it seems to be him with a woman and a child… are they familiar?
- Here it is!
He came back and I didn't even notice. He handed the sword to me and I held it, but just from touching the sword it started to glow in a different way, what's going on?
- Thanks for taking care of my sword too.
- Where did you get her?
- Hmm, we can say that it was in a chest that my group found and we were very lucky!
- I see… And this necklace?
- It was a gift from a friend!
I almost forgot about Sacri, thank goodness she's still with me, but from his questions, he probably doesn't know anything about it… I think =.=)'
- Now you can go back to rest.
- Okay, thanks…
He sat back down and finished what he was doing.
But there's something wrong with Jadi, I feel like she's trying to say something… what's going on? But for some reason I started to get my attention on his bandaged bat…
Is Jadi wanting to tell me something about the bat?...
Wait… is it a twelve o'clock gun?
Who is this guy? How did he get a weapon like that? Did he destroy some legendary monster… but if that's true then it means that he also takes part in the Tower's challenges…
Is he a player?!
Wait, I can't keep making several theories without being sure of anything, I'll wait for everyone to wake up and when we get better I'll ask all the questions I can…
***
It must have been about five hours since I woke up at that time and now everyone seems to be fine except for Adrick who was still sleeping.
I also noticed that candles are not common, they have a special smell and this smell seems to have helped in the treatment. I explained to Kaule and Raild that the owner of the house helped us and that he doesn't have to worry about our stuff.
So, that man enters the room holding a tray with some glasses and a strange object next to each glass… it looks like a mini-cube with strange geometries on its faces…
- Before you start any questions, I ask that each one take a glass and a cube please.
I don't know what he intend, but we did as he said!
(Raild kicked Adrick and made him wake up to follow what the man was saying…)
- Drink the contents of the glass, bite into the cube so that it divides into two parts and place each half in one eye.
- What?
- What do you mean by that, sir? (Kaule)
- You must be kidding us, right? (Raild)
- So it's not like eating? (Adrick)
- If you do that you will be able to understand the explanations that I will give you more easily, but the choice is yours. As soon as you decide, I'll be waiting for you outside the house at the front door, if you want to go without talking to me just walk out the kitchen door.
Then he left the room without saying anything else.
- Lyunil, I think we'd better get out of here before it's too late. (Raild)
- But he helped us!
- I know, but this could be part of his plan to win our trust. I was raised in the underworld and learned to have a good intuition when it comes to bad people and you can bet his smell is not a good thing! (Raild)
- This time I agree with Raild, Lyunil. He doesn't seem to be trustworthy despite having done all this. No one would want to go to the trouble of taking care of strangers like that without a purpose behind it… (Kaule)
- He doesn't look like a bad guy, but I don't think he's a good guy! (Adrick)
- Everything he has done so far has been proof of trust that he himself wanted to demonstrate. Just the fact that he left his own house and left us here shows that! Just as we distrust him, he could also just distrust us and tell us to get out of his house, but I think he wants to talk to us! Also, he has something important I need to check…
- Something important? (Kaule)
- Yea! I think he has one of the twelve legendary weapons just like mine...
- What? (Raild)
- And why are you worried about it? Do you intend to steal his gun? (Adrick)
- Of course not! I want to ask questions about weapons to find out how they work! Can this help us with our goals going forward, or do you think the fight from before was not enough reason to show that we are still weak?
…
The three were silent.
Unfortunately this is the truth. We are willing to do everything to reach the top, but we barely made it past the first level! What kind of miracles are we hoping to help us with the next challenges that will be much more difficult!?
- I don't have much confidence in him either, but I want to at least repay him for what he did for us and get some information. But if he does anything suspicious, I'm counting on you to help me get him!
- Okay (Adrick)
- You can count on me (Kaule)
- Looks like you know how to use good words at the right times… Let's do it then. (Raild)
I made an expression of affirmation and we all drank the contents of the glass together.
It has a very bitter taste. It must be that medicine he was preparing.
Now comes the weirdest part.
The cube…
We looked at each other and decided to bite then.
The cube split into two halves...
I held my breath, gathered some courage and tried to get each half inside each eye…
But before it touched my retina, each half mysteriously dissolved and I didn't feel anything happen to my eyes.
After blinking three times, something extremely strange happened! My vision was filled with some weird lines and words!
- What is happening?!
- What are those things? (Raild)
- It seems like there's something written in my eyes… "Player Extension Interface"? (Kaule)
- Someone takes this bunch of shiny things from me!!! (Adrick)
- This looks the same as the panel that appears on our bracelets… Is it part of the system?
- I think this is like a help spell for the game… (Kaule)
- But why did he have something like that and gave it to us instead of the Tower? (Raild)
- Take it from me!!!!!!!!! (Adrick)
- Let's talk to him to find out what's going on… (Me)
***
After we got ready, packed our things and Adrick calmed down, we went to the front door to talk to the owner of the house and get rid of this whole mystery. So, leaving the house, there he was waiting for us. But something was wrong with the setting, something that couldn't be summed up in small details, but in fact a complete transformation! What happened to the village? It is no longer possible to see those simple houses, or dirt roads, views of the fields or forests that surrounded the place, or, above all, the horizon on which the sun usually rests.
In place of this scenario, there is now a large square and from it there are several streets full of houses and shops that fill the view. Wind currents that were once free and now follow the path this new place took.
Have we been taken to another continent?
No… this is not possible…
Because I can still see the Tower from this place I am!
So is it another Tower?
It can't be… it's just supposed to have this Tower, isn't it? What's happening?
- I see you made a good choice! Let me finally introduce… My name is Daizou! Welcome to the Kingdom of Trinty!
- Kingdom of Trinity?!...
So that village… became a kingdom?!
- How many centuries have we been unconscious? (Raild)
- Only eight hours! (Daizou)
- Are you telling me that in eight hours all this was built? I will never again doubt the potential of the village builder… (Raild)
- I think it's easier to think that all this ended up falling sky... (Kaule)
- Could it be that it was a litter of construction animals? (Adrick)
- Sorry, but nobody got it right! What happened is that you leveled up the Tower! (Daizou)
I mean that this is the meaning of what the administrator said at that time!!!
"[You completed the Tower Level 1 challenges, so you were promoted to the next level]
[Level 2 - The Kingdom]"
- Each level of the Tower corresponds to a stage of the place you know as "Trinty's village". That is, the next times you level up again, new changes will happen. (Daizou)
- How do you know all this? (Me)
- That was the next subject that I will talk to you, I ask you to look at me please!
We were all in awe of the scenery that when we looked at it we were surprised with…
- What is it?! Your name is popping up on top of your head, weird man!! (Adrick)
- There's one more thing appearing next to the name… "TW"… what does that mean? (Kaule)
Now that we're outside in a bright environment, I got a better look at Daizou. He has white hair and ties him up like a swordsman and his clothes are simple that befits his style and features, he should definitely be from the far east… However, his appearance proves to be between twenty and thirty, someone really quite young with a fully mature presence and countenance!
- What you put in your eyes is a special item in the game that serves to help in various situations of analysis and observation to obtain more accurate and essential information during your journey through the Tower. (Daizou)
- How does this work? (Me)
- Just want to activate this interface as you do with your bracelet and want to analyze some information. It's a quicker way to find out about things and gives more explanation than the bracelet… (Daizou)
- And why didn't the Tower give us this before? (Raild)
- Because it is an item that gives benefits and therefore needs to be earned, but I decided to give it to you, so I hope you accept it as an apology for having acted in such a mysterious way. (Daizou)
- We are the ones who thank you for your help and for everything you have done for us! (Me)
- Don't worry, as I said, it's something I usually do. (Daizou)
- What kind of things can we know with this "interface"? (Kaule)
- People information: such as name, level, class, status; place information and object information. But the restrictions are: for information from people it is necessary that the person is not using a type of information blocker. The object you need to hold for at least ten seconds and the place object must be in place. Once you get the information you don't need to repeat the process as it will be saved in the "memory". And to analyze something new you should use the voice command: "system, analyze!" or whatever name you call the system. (Daizou)
- Like TT-chan? (Me)
- … this...… (Daizou)
He seems to have been embarrassed after I said that. This nickname for the system seems to be suspicious...
But the gift he gave us seems to be very useful. Maybe that way I can get more information about the items I have and other information that I end up needing!
- But you can better find out how it works later, now I'm going to take you to a very important place, come with me!
He started walking.
- Where are we going? (Me)
We followed him.
- To the Master Guild! To register you guys.
***
We went to the place of the Master Guild! It's a huge build, much bigger than the guilds I used to work with.
- Do we need to register here? (Me)
- It is very important that you register as soon as possible to prepare for the level mission that will be revealed. (Daizou)
- Mission level? (Kaule)
- I think your level 1 was different from what it used to be… (Daizou)
If different means that we were almost killed several times by extremely dangerous monsters, witnessing the death of a Titan and being beaten by a grumpy wolf, then it really was quite different!
- …but usually at each level of the Tower there is a main quest, which when completed promotes players to the next level, this quest is called a level quest. But that's not a rule, because the Tower is quite enigmatic! The master guild takes care of the bureaucratic part of the information besides helping with some necessities, giving rewards for achievements, integrating in a ranking system and many interesting benefits!
- I understood! Like a normal adventurer guild does! (Me)
- Yes, but in a much more extraordinary way. In addition, she also integrates other guilds in this system! So if you want to create your own guild just ask them and they will give you instructions!
- Wooww, that lives up to their name! (Me)
- Are you a player too, Daizou?! (Raild)
- Why do you think that? (Daizou)
- It's not very nice to answer other people's questions with another question. (Raild)
- Hmm… you're right, but if you're wondering where the players are… (Daizou)
He opened the door to the place and it was packed with people.
- This is the right place to find them! (Daizou)
How is this possible? Ryan had said that time that there were a lot of people coming to challenge the Tower, but we haven't been able to find anyone since. Suddenly, a lot of players appear in the same place!! How does the Tower manage to do all this? The village, the players, the classes… all these must use immense and incalculable power!
- And to answer your question, I'm not a tower player but a tower winner. (Daizou)
- Tower Winner? What does that mean? (Raild)
- I've already reached the top of the Tower. (Daizou)
- WHEEEEE?!?!?! (x4)
***
After that surprise, Daizou showed us the Guild, gave us some tips and told us to continue alone from here and that in another time he would keep talking to us to give us more tips.
We made our registrations as players and asked for a request to create a guild, but at the time I was more excited, now that I stopped to think it doesn't make much sense… To create a guild you need some requirements: have at least five members, everyone must be at least level 20, has a cost rate to create and you have to think of a name… I'm not very good at it and I don't think the others either =v=).
On the other hand there are many benefits of having a guild affiliated with the master guild: exclusive guild quests, guild rewards, benefit contracts, discounts on trade networks and guild housing… Just thinking about how wonderful it is! But we only have four members, all our money was gone from the resources we used in Level 1 and I have no idea what to name!
- Ah…
- No need to sigh so soon, Lyunil! We will think of something! Raild and Adrick went to check out the quests to get some money to support us during these days.
- You're right, Kaule, but now that we've put both feet back to reality, the situation has completely changed...
Since we got to Level 2, everything seems to have changed and very drastically, I can't even get used to this bunch of people around us, imagine how it will be…
...
Oh no…
- KYYYAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
Damn… I think I stepped on someone by accident…
- Hey, you idiot! You stepped on my tail!!!
- ^^)''''... forgive me, young lady! It was an accident, I… wait a minute, did you say tail? (Me)
When I turned to the direction, I was able to notice. It's a half human-animal, but unlike Scaren, she has more human than animal physiognomy. She has a pretty girlish face, but fox ears? or cat?... And in place of hair, fur of red color... cherry?. A woman's body, but big, sharp nails, sharp fangs in her teeth and… a tail I just stepped on ";-;... And she looks extremely irritated…
- What do you think you're looking at, you pervert! I think I'm going to rip your head off right here and now!!
- It's nothing like that, miss! It's just that I found you…
- Apparently you don't mince your words, you perverted idiot! Tomorrow, at the arena, I'll finish you off at 3:00 pm. If you don't show up there, I'll hunt you down while you're sleeping!
And she left with fire in her eyes with an expression of anger that made everyone in front of her leave without thinking twice… Despite being cute, when she gets mad to death, she's afraid to get close to her… I think I just complicated things even more…
- You really are hopeless, Lyunil. I hope you can make peace with her so she doesn't cause us any problems hehehe… (Kaule)
- Aaaaaahhhhh….. /SIGH!/
It's been a more complicated "start a new level" than I could have expected...