Life in the City

They returned to the inn after finishing their meal and went into their respective rooms to sleep.

It had been a long time since they slept in a real bed, so they couldn't wait to lie down and relax.

Ash was already lying uncomfortably in his bed, with Jagu curled up at his feet, taking up almost half of the bed.

He grumbled in his mind while gently kicking Jagu's body. 'Just a statue acting up, needing to sleep in a bed.'

Jagu remained still and comfortably curled up, not caring about Ash's discomfort or his kickings.

Ash gave up, then took The Captain's Diary out of his inventory and started reading it.

Day four hundred and twenty-seven

Slowly, I can go crazy living alone on this island.

But I remember the words of other players I once met.

'If you don't have a ship that is too big, you can sail the sea.

If you have a ship that is too big, there will be sea creatures with tentacles that will drag you into the ocean.'

"Hmmm."

It turned out that the tentacled sea creatures he saw dragging the pirate's big ship had been around for a long time.

Ash felt fortunate to only be riding the captain's small ship. He shuddered at the thought of how enormous those tentacles were.

He opened the following pages.

Day four hundred and seventy-one

I miss John and his group's place.

It was a city built on a rocky hill, with caves all over the city. All the walls were in white, as if painted by man.

But it wasn't.

Ash suddenly sat up. A city built on a rocky hill, all white?

'Does this mean I'm in the place where John was?'

He continued reading the rest of the page.

There, if we were not under attack from other groups or players, we lived peacefully and calmly.

Food and drink were abundant, clothing and all primary needs were provided by several caves that served as item sources in this game.

Some of John's members even got married there and had children.

And most uniquely, for those who enjoyed item hunting, there was a portal to go to other places.

"You just mention where you want to go, and the portal will take you anywhere. But of course, because there are no other portals like this elsewhere, as far as we know, there is a time limit.

People who go through the portal will return to this city within two hours.

And those who have just used the portal won't be able to use it again for twenty-four hours.

Oh, John lives in the highest cave in this place. He lives alone.

In my opinion, he actually misses going home. He once told me that he was brought to this world when he was fifteen. So he misses his family, including his sister.

Ash closed the diary.

'So, John mentioned in the diary is the ruler of this place, and he lives in the highest cave on this hill,' he thought.

He put the diary back into his inventory and lay back down with his hands behind his head.

'Tomorrow, we'll try to register for item hunting first, then we'll try to meet John,' he thought as he closed his eyes.

Not long after, he fell sound asleep.

***

The next morning, Ash and Maya had breakfast at the inn.

Jagu still hadn't eaten until now, which puzzled Ash more and more, as he watched Jagu sitting by the window, observing the people passing by in front of the inn.

"What's our plan for today?" Maya asked as she cut her croissant and dipped it into mayonnaise and ketchup.

Ash chewed his croissant and then sipped his coffee before answering, "We need to register first, of course. If we don't, we might get kicked out of here."

Maya nodded.

They left after thanking the elderly innkeeper for the breakfast. The inn was quiet, with only the two of them there now, but the woman seemed to really enjoy her work.

After a fifteen-minute walk, they arrived at the town hall.

The town hall was made from a longhouse, with half of the building embedded into the cliff.

When they entered, they saw many people inside. A group of young women was singing a cappella at the far end of the building. Some elderly women and men were sitting on chairs along the walls, and a few elderly couples were waltzing without any music.

The atmosphere truly felt like Earth, in a small, safe, and cozy village!

"They both walked towards a wooden half-circle shaped desk, resembling a receptionist's desk.

A middle-aged man with thick glasses and reading a thick book at the desk looked up when he saw someone in front of his desk.

'Ah, welcome. How can I help you?' the man asked kindly. The name tag pinned to his chest clearly showed his name, Matheus.

'Hello, Sir. The two of us would like to register for item hunting in this city. We just arrived here yesterday,' Ash replied.

"Aha, of course. You need to fill out the forms and we will give you a pass card. The card will serve as your identification in this city," Matheus explained while handing over the forms.

Ash and Maya then sat on the chairs provided opposite Matheus and filled out the forms.

"Oh, and for the pets you brought, you need to include them in the form, okay?" Matheus explained again.

Ash and Maya nodded, and Matheus returned to reading his thick book.

After submitting the forms, they received their pass cards and left the Town Hall after thanking Matheus.

"Are we going to search for items now?" Maya asked Ash while walking along the small roads with some food streets vendors around. "This time, it's your turn to help me, right?"

Ash shook his head, then looked up at the hill. "We can do that a bit more leisurely. Right now, I want to confirm something first."

"Confirm what?" Maya asked, glancing at the ice cream vendor to her right.

Ash gestured to Maya to buy ice cream with his body movement and said, "We're going to meet the ruler of this place."