Finding Civilization

Nick wasn't able to hear anything the voices had said before the portal zapped them back to the first game world–Tower of Eternity. As he sat on his butt, cowering before the recently reformed ogre known as Sailor Juliana, he wished he couldn't hear her complaints either.

"Are you flucking stupid? We get transported to some crazy murder house and your first instinct is to run off and start touching shet? Huh, deckhead?"

If he could sink into the ground any further he'd fall all the way to the other side of the world.

'Why'd she pick now to act like a bich again?'

And why was she even complaining? They could've killed 5 D-Rank monsters before that stupid portal took them away. Boom, their dead, portal appears, and they leave just before those voices came into the room. Instead, all he had to show for their recent trip was one dead rat.

Juliana's face was suddenly right next to his. Although her eyes held a fierce ferocity, he didn't feel scared at all–she looked far too sexy when she was mad.

Her face matched the color of her scarlet red perfectly, and the angle she lowered her torso revealed two ample gifts...

Whack!

As Juliana's fist sent him flying to the ground, she screamed, "Hey! Deckhead! You gonna answer me? Why'd I have to save us, Mr. Hero!"

'My name's Nick...' He rubbed his head as he smiled, saying, "Sorry..." It was best to just say that the girl was right.

He could've sworn her expression softened for just a moment, but she steeled it far too fast to mean anything. Her lower lip puckered out like a little kid who was pouting as she said, "You better be sorry!"

Then her expression softened for real this time as she turned away, looking around the woods. Nick did the same, instantly noticing some kind of silvery glow above his head.

Looking up, he saw that it was some kind of text–a location maker.

[Hidden Nexus point found]

[Experience gained: 200]

[Experience: 413/1,500]

'Nexus point?'

So that was what an area with a portal was called? Didn't entirely make sense, considering what a nexus was: essentially, an origin or connecting point.

Like how his throne room was a nexus amongst the cosmos, because in the game it could teleport him to any world. Maybe it just meant a spot with a portal?

'Makes sense.'

Though, looking around, the portal was gone. Well, not entirely. There was a faint echo of that energy he felt before, but now it was more closed off.

Sighing, Nick decided to think about all of this at a later date. Juliana's fear was replaced with abuse, so he knew they were fine at the moment anyway.

Besides, it was all too confusing. The only thing early-game players should have to worry about was grinding anyway.

That was the entire reason they were even out here!

Opening the map again to see if he could find any inspiration, he found a surprising addition to the UI.

[Worlds function added]

[You can now toggle between worlds that you have entered]

'Even after such a short time? Well, doesn't matter right now anyway, as I'd only see The Forge.'

Still, curiosity got the better of him.

[World 1–Tower of Eternity]

[World 4–The Crucible]

'Select World 4.'

It was exactly as he expected. Most of the world outside of The Forge was obscured by shadows.

There was one thing that caught his eye though: a complete lack of location markers. World 4 was the one that introduced many of the PvP and online event elements, essentially making it a place packed with special locations.

However, if his map was to be believed, it was completely empty.

'But what could that mean?'

Closing his map hastily in disgust, Nick promised himself not to find any other mysteries until he leveled up. He wasn't going to be the proverbial cat that got murdered by curiosity. No, he was going to level up until he became a mighty tiger!

No more mysteries.

"Hey, Nick. If I became a giant reality-ending monster, would you still love me?"

'What the hell is she talking about!'

...

The more they walked the more Nick began to understand the map. It was mostly a useless junk item, much like everything the game gave him– except for [Fang of Finality].

And Juliana!

Nick stole a small glance at the little fiery ball of beauty, almost scared that she read his thoughts. Even if he had put the Fang above her for only a moment, he now realized how women are... 

But anyway, using the locations on the map, he realized he distinctly remembered a city that was by 5 different dungeons. This is because the city basically introduced guilds in the game, and by joining a guild you could go on raids. 

In the city, there were 5 levels of dungeons. Beginner, Advanced, Master, Mythic, and Exalted. Of course, both experience and items could be earned by completing the dungeon, and the value scaled with the difficulty.

With his current strength, it was probably best to stick to beginner and advanced dungeons. With both his and Juliana's skills, it would be easy to clear them quickly anyway.

Looking at his stats for a second, Nick wished he could choose his own attributes. His attack scaled off of str, so it made the most sense to upgrade that at the beginning. The stupid system hated him as usual.

'Isn't that what most RPGs are supposed to do anyway? Ultimate customization: can't even choose your stats.'

Sighing, Nick shook his head and summoned [Fang of Finality]. He looked at it for a few seconds, studying the craftsmanship of his best reward (second best!) so far.

It was a really fine weapon for what it was–a literal Fang. He couldn't really tell what beast the Fang came from, but he had a few ideas. Dragon, megalodon, chimera... really, the possibilities were endless!

They could even come from Juliana's ancestors.

Juliana suddenly stopped walking when she saw his sword, causing him to almost run into her.

"Ah!" "Hey!"

They exclaimed as Nick hurriedly turned the blade to the side to keep from skewering her. What was she doing, stopping!?

Then his heart skipped a beat– he hadn't actually stopped moving in time and did run into her. Just not enough to knock her over or anything.

He could barely breathe as the only thing between him and her mountains was his sword. Everything else was pressed right up against each other at this moment. Silently cursing his tent, he desperately tried to imagine those beautiful eyes turning sadistic.

But even when she was yelling and attacking his balls, it was never due to sadism. So, it turned out that being within breathing distance of someone you found hot while simultaneously being a horny virgin meant that your shorts became a family-sized tent.

Breathing very slowly in a losing battle against his dragon, Nick realized that her breath smelled particularly delightful. Which only made his fight more impossible.

Juliana's eyes grew wide for a split second before a small smirk played on her lips–the kind that drove men wild.

"Uh, I uh... well, Nick, we're close to a goblin outpost. We can find some gold and experience there. Maybe even get you some armor so you're not... naked."

Naked?!