Arrival in Vulx

The particles of light began to swirl and converge, gradually forming the silhouette of a man. Slowly, the radiant energy condensed, folding in on itself until it solidified into flesh and bone. Malone's body took shape, fully restored in the material world.

Above him, the sky loomed dark and oppressive. Thick clouds smothered the moonlight, casting the land in a bleak, gray haze.

In the distance, a large weathered sign stood beside a poorly guarded gate. Behind it rose a perimeter of towering wooden walls, reinforced with rust-stained metal plates, an uneven attempt at a fortress, half-assed but functional.

The faded letters on the sign read: Welcome to Vulx City.

Gripping the hilt of his sword, Malone trudged forward, finally making up his mind.

"Hmph… I can finally stop at Cinnia's Tavern. About time I got some damn rest."

He glanced at his left hand.

"This body should have it… the Lukros Mark."

Grabbing his wrist, Malone rolled up the sleeve of his coat to reveal his forearm.

Etched into his skin in glowing red was a familiar symbol: a crescent moon pierced by a sleek, elegant needle.

The mark itself pulsed faintly with magic.

"Heh… just as expected. Of course I would have this so early on. If you picked the Greed Sin Class, this would be included in the starting gear."

"Since Sinner is the culmination of all the Sin paths, it is only natural I would start off with some perks."

"Getting a Lukros Mark this early is a massive financial exploit."

He muttered to himself, recalling the in-game lore.

"In the original game, Lukros currency was this world's version of digital banking. But instead of code and servers, it ran entirely on magic, designed by that arrogant bastard Duke Lukros himself."

"He created a system where people could convert their earnings; gold, silver, and bronze alike into Lukros coins by registering for a mark at your local guild or bank. With this enchanted mark, hunters and civilians could make purchases by syncing their marks."

Malone smile at the thought, as he rubbed the pulsing, warm spot on his forearm.

"Hehehe... score! Though if my memory serves right, in the Greed Route, the prince character starts with 20,000 Lukros coins, that is about 20 gold pieces. More than enough to feed an entire family for four years."

Malone said as he walked forward.

He crossed through the main gate, the guards barely looked up from their position, the security here was rather trash compare to the capital and main kingdom of the empress.

In this case he counted only two of them, one was too busy scratching himself through iron-plated armor, the other was asleep, impressive to note though the one that's as asleep from what Malone eye saw was a level 22 Ravager.

The other one was level 4 Tyrant, but stronger one with a drooping spear was sleeping while standin.

And Neither seemed to notice him a completely suspicious looking stranger wrapped in a dark cloak stepping over the muddy threshold of Vulx.

But this was good for Malone, better than causing a commotion at this hour.

As such he slip right by them.

The streets were slick with rain and filth.

Piss, blood, and liquor invaded his nose, as he walk passed the many dim torchlight from lantern on the streets post.

The occasional drifter or vagabond huddled in the shadows, and feral dogs scuttled between overturned crates.

"Still the same dump as the game portrayed it."

Malone muttered as he walked through the crooked alleyways that led toward Cinnia's.

"As the dev of this game I have to say, in a real setting I really outdid myself on the detail's indeed."

He made a sharp turn and passed an old statue, cracked down the middle, of a long-forgotten hero.

It bore a plaque too rusted to read, moss clinging to its feet like nature itself was trying to drag it into the mud.

But as he existed to alley way, right across the street, the sight of a familiar building came into his view.

Malone narrowed his eyes, as he smiles under the hood.

"Cinnia's...at last."

Windows steamed up.

Chimney blowing smoke.

The distant sound of people slamming a mug or two on a table, with the chattering of a crowd, all of which was coming from within.

Soon Malone began to approach the door, stepping over a slumped drunk half-buried in trash.

"A goodnight to you sir."

He said courteously, knowing damn well this guy was cool for the night.

Passing him his hand touched the old knob to release the locks, as his body push the double door open right after.

But the second his hand touched the iron handle, the many noises coming from within suddenly stop, and he greeted with stillness.

The small but rowdy crowd quiet down as the all look. Every hunter here has sharpen their skills to the point they can sense danger.

It was because of this, they perceive Malone arrival as if a insanely strong beast had just step into their domain.

In a way it was true, but that was not the case here.

But Malone did not came here to turn heads, and awe a crowd, although he doesn't need to eat, drink, or sleep he still fancy it, a lifestyle of unending grind was snot something he was used to.

And the tension in the room only grew as he drag his boots forward.

The door creaked open.

And Malone fully stepped in.

Eyes snapped toward him.

Hunters, mercs, drinkers, brothel rogues... all stared, the stench of booze and sweat thick in the air.

Their heads didn't move much, but their eyes sure did. Every single one of them watching him enter his cloak still dripping with rainwater.

"Hmm... Black Vein? Here? That's... unexpected. You're not supposed to meet them this early. In the original timeline, they didn't show up until mid-game, during the siege on House Varnyx."

Malone watch them secretly from the corner of his eye.

Even in a place like this, they stood out, when compare to other hunters.

Catalina was sprawled across a table like a lazy predator, boots up, arm draped across the backrest.

Gallot, with a bottle to his head paused halfway as he stared at Malone.

Kanay and Selene sat side by side, fingers intertwined also looked at him.

And Moon? Moon just stared at Malone like he had seen the end of the world enter into the same room as them.

Their reactions ranged from frozen unease to outright silent panic.

But Malone did not make this strange atmosphere bother him, rather he pulled down his hood and smirked at the woman at the counter.

"Barmaid."

He said, his voice calm but commanding.

"Stew, Ale, bath and a room upstairs if you got it."