"We have already researched this; drop rate after death is not certain. His treasures might end up lost forever when he dies," Scarface said. "But it is true that we still need to eliminate him as soon as possible, not for his treasures but to prevent him from becoming a greater obstacle to our guild. It is unfortunate that we have made him our enemy; that stupid Bigarm sure knows how to pick a foe! Now we need to stop Storm Wind from advancing."
"It will be difficult to make obvious moves against him as he has White Scarfs' protection."
"White Scarfs protected him when they didn't see us as a threat. However, we now know that cities other than Bay City were affected by the world-changing event too. That means more players were transported into this world from other cities. Once we assemble all the members of our Death Associates guild, White Scarfs will be just a small annoyance; if they still insist on protecting Storm Wind, they will be the ones to suffer."
Red Death thought about Scarface's words. "But after searching for five days, we still haven't located many of our members from other cities."
"It is possible that this capital is not the only place that players have been sent to," Scarface replied.
"You mean there are other cities in this world where we might find players like us?"
"I would say that is highly probable," Scarface nodded. "Once our members reach the higher levels that allow them to travel further into the wilderness, we will start exploring. Once we find other cities and our other members, we can re-assemble our guild and regain our glory."
Red Death looked in the direction of Jack's party.
"So, for now, we let them roam free?" She asked.
"For now," Scarface replied. "By the way, Blackjack will surely be pissed by your request this time. He lost quite a number of his people."
"He will get his compensation," Red Death said. "But I know his temperament. He will surely not let this go. While we focus on searching for our guild members, we can use his thirst for vengeance to create trouble for Storm Wind.
"That was kind of heartless of you; I thought he was your martial brother."
Red Death scoffed, "He is just a fool who thinks a lot of himself, though he can be useful once in a while."
Scarface smirked, "Heh. If this is how you treat people who are kind to you, I would hate to be your enemy."
---------------
Jack's group arrived in the Capital without any other complications. When they passed through the city gate, the group could feel their tension loosening. They were now inside the safe zone; no more need to worry about being ambushed by other players or monsters.
"So, where are you guys going?" Bowler asked the others.
"I am going to meet up with my men who died, and then we are going to hang out in the tavern. Any of you want to join?" The Man asked.
"I will pass. I want to go hand our quest to the Adventurers Association," Jack replied.
"Me too," John said.
"Okay, keep in contact, Boss! Holler if you need anything," The Man said, completely ignoring John.
Jack nodded. "Take care. Call me, too, if you need help."
"That's my boss!" The Man clapped him on the shoulder and waved goodbye to Bowler, Flame, and Tip. He again deliberately ignored John, who seemed indifferent to this treatment.
When The Man left with the rest of Men of Solidarity, Jack turned to John, "you are going to hand over your quest to the Adventurers Association as well? Shall we head there together?"
"You go first; I want to visit some shops to make a few purchases first," John replied.
"All right. Keep in touch," Jack said to him.
"Oh, believe me, I will. It will be a shame if I don't put someone with abilities such as yours to proper use," John replied.
"You are completely shameless, you know?" Bowler scorned.
John replied with contempt, "You have been calling me detestable, despicable, and shameless. Go brush up on your vocabulary so you can add more colorful words to describe me next time."
"I would prefer there to be no next time."
"The feeling is mutual, friend."
Flame was not interested in listening to their banter, so she walked away, and Jack followed her. When Bowler saw that they had left him behind, he immediately ignored John and chased after them.
*
There were even more people this time inside the Bronze Hall of Adventurers Association. Soon every player, or outworlder, as the natives called them, would know about this place. When that happened, Jack was afraid that people would need to queue up to accept a quest despite the Hall's large size and multiple counters. Luckily, he was just three points away from becoming a Silver adventurer; he expected the Silver Hall to stay less crowded for some time.
Jack went to a counter while Flame and Bowler went to the other two empty counters. Currently, they still had the luxury of choosing counters. Although the three had accepted the same quest, they still needed to submit it individually to receive their rewards.
Jack handed in his completion report and received three silver coins, 2000 Experience points, and 14 Adventurer Points.
He immediately received a system notification, "Congratulations, you have reached level 15 for your Fighter class."
Level 15 at last! He was now eligible for an Advanced class.
While he was internally celebrating his level-up, the girl at the counter took out a dark red orb similar to the one at the lobby counter when Jack received his Bronze adventurer badge.
"Sir, congratulations, you have accumulated enough points to become a Silver rank Adventurer," the girl at the counter said. "If I may borrow your Adventurer Badge, I will help you through the necessary process of becoming one."
'There is still a process?' Jack thought. He didn't worry about it and handed over his Adventurer Badge. The girl placed it onto the orb, which enveloped it. Jack and the girl waited while the orb occasionally flashed with dull light. It was like waiting for computer processing in his real world, Jack thought. Not long after, the orb released his badge. It was now silver in color with a metallic texture. Some parts were so shiny he could see his reflection.
"The process is complete; congratulations on becoming a Silver Adventurer," the girl said with a smile.
Jack took back his badge and admired it. It looked much cooler now.
The girl then gave him the directions to the Silver Hall, which provided quests for Silver Adventurer.
"Before you go, I would also like to inform you," the girl added. "that as the first Outworlder to become a Silver Adventurer, you have been granted VIP Adventurer status."
"What's VIP status?" Jack asked.
"It's a status with some benefits, of course," the girl replied. "One of which allows you to use our VIP rooms. Inside the rooms, you can receive and submit quests as you have been doing at the counters here in the Hall. But since the rooms are exclusive for VIPs, you don't have to worry about queueing up with the crowd."
Jack thought that was pretty neat. He had been worrying about this place getting too crowded just a few minutes ago. He didn't expect to be handed a solution to that issue in such a short time. It was like being a VIP at a bank in his real life, so you don't need to waste time queuing up at the tellers.
Jack thanked her for her help and was just about to depart to look at the Silver Hall when he heard Peniel's voice.
'Aren't you forgetting something?' She asked.
'About what?' Jack enquired.
He could hear Peniel let out a heavy sigh, showing her annoyance.
"Exclusive List! Body Double skill!" She said out loud.
Edited by OneFellSwoop
"Right!" Jack recalled after being reminded by Peniel. He immediately turned back to the counter.
The girl still smiled politely at him, "is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. Storm Wind?"
"I wish to exchange my points," Jack said to her.
The girl then brought out the exchange interface. Jack scrolled to the top where the Exclusive items were. The four exclusive items were still there, naturally. Since he was the first to become a Silver adventurer, he was also the first with enough points to get most of the items from that list. Interestingly, there were only 9 Skill Books; someone had exchanged 30 Adventurer points for one of the Skill Books.
Jack clicked on the Technique Book: Body Double. The system automatically subtracted 100 Available Adventurer points. When he checked his Adventurer Badge, he saw that Adventurer points were still 111, but Available points only had 11 left.
The Technique Book materialized on his hand. He inspected it.
*
Technique Book: Body Double (Rare Consumable)
Grant the skill: Body Double
Restriction: Mage class
*
When he saw the description, he was dumbfounded. 'This is a skill for Mage class?' Jack asked Peniel.
'Yes. Why? Is there a problem?' Peniel asked.
'I was thinking of becoming a Healer once I become a level 15 Magician,' Jack answered.
'Oh…,' Peniel just realized she had not told Jack which class the Body Double skill belonged to. However, instead of admitting that she had been careless, she said, 'Why be a healer? A Mage is a better class!'
'Really? I thought every class had its specialties, so no one class should be better than the others?' Jack said, remembering the Fairy's words a few days ago. That was also how VR RPG class systems worked in his past gaming experiences.
Peniel was annoyed that Jack used her own words against her. She asked, 'Why do you want to be a healer anyway?'
'I thought it would work well if used in conjunction with my melee prowess; it would help me survive in combat longer.'
Well, it's your fault anyway for not telling me your plan from the start. You can't return the book anymore; give it to your friend then if you don't want it!' Peniel said in a sulky tone.
It's not that I'm blaming you, sister, Jack thought helplessly.
'Well, it's not like I was set on being a healer anyway,' Jack shrugged. Since fate had allowed him to learn a Mage skill, he might as well choose that class then. Jack stored the book away into his Inventory Bag.
'Shall we check the Silver Hall?' Jack asked Peniel to change the topic.
'You should get your Advanced class first. The quests from this Adventurers Association all have time limits. It's better if you only pick them when you have no other things to do.'
'All right,' Jack agreed.
He then walked over to Bowler and Flame, who had finished submitting their quests some time ago; they were sitting on one of the benches waiting for Jack.
"Shall we pick another collaborative quest?" Bowler asked excitedly.
Jack felt bad after seeing the guy's spirit, but he had to prioritize his class change. Peniel had informed him that attribute increases between advanced and basic classes were different, so he needed to change his class before gaining another level.
"Sorry, I have to attend to an urgent matter. Maybe another time."
"Oh… All right, no problem," Bowler replied. He tried to sound cheerful, but Jack could hear a hint of disappointment.
Flame was more indifferent. She simply nodded and said, "Good luck with your matter."
She then asked Bowler, "You want to quest alone or together? There is a quest for two people there, but another one for four people gives more rewards. We could ask John to join."
"No! Not that guy!" Bowler immediately rejected. "I've put The Man in my friend list. I will ask him instead."
Flame shrugged; it was okay with her either way.
Jack bid them farewell and left the Adventurers Association.
John came into the Association at this time, he didn't notice Jack leaving as he entered the building. John went directly to the Bronze Hall to submit his quest. In the extensive and crowded Hall, he also didn't notice Bowler and Flame looking at quests.
John went to one of the empty counters to submit his quest. After receiving his rewards, he was grinning. He said to himself, "a few more points and I will have enough for that Body Double technique book, hehe."
Before he chose another quest to take, he opened the Item Exchange list again to make sure the book was still there. When he reached the top part of the list, his hand froze. He blinked his eyes a few times to make sure that they were still working correctly. He looked again. There were only three items left in the Exclusive list. And it had to be his target, the Body Double Technique Book, that had gone missing. He thought he was very fast in accumulating points; there was someone even quicker?
"DAMN IT!" He shouted bitterly.
A few counters away, Bowler looked around. "Who the hell was it cursing inside this place? Hope the guards throw him out."
*
After he exited the Adventurers Association building, Jack realized he had no clue how to change his class. He asked Peniel, 'what should I do to advance my class?'
Peniel soon replied, 'That will depend on which class you want. You said that you want to be a Warrior instead of a Knight to learn that Technique Book Gilbert gave you. Is that still the plan?'
There was still a hint of annoyance in her voice. This Fairy was a moody one, Jack thought quietly. He then answered her, 'Yes. I still want to become a Warrior.'
'Then ask the locals for directions to the Warrior Academy.'
'Warrior Academy?'
'Yes, find that place, then go and apply to become a Warrior.'
Jack proceeded to ask the natives. Following their directions, he came to the edge of the Business district close to the Noble district.
Many guards patrolled this area where several huge and luxurious buildings lined the street. Not many players were around this street; most of the people Jack saw were NPCs. Few players knew the purpose of these buildings yet.
Jack approached one of the buildings; it was a white-painted stone building with rib vaults and large stained glass windows. There was a high tower at the back of the building. Jack saw several men and women in white robes under the open vestibule at the building's entrance.
When Jack came to the vestibule, he saw an inscription beside the entrance doors: Healer Academy.
"Can I help you, sir?" One of the women in a white robe greeted him with a polite smile.
"I am looking for Warrior Academy. I was informed that it was on this street?" Jack said to the woman.
"It is the second building that way," the woman answered, pointing.
Jack thanked her and went on his way. The next building had a logo depicting a sword and a shield; he assumed it was the Knight Academy.
The building after that was a little bit more modest than the others. It was made of wooden and steel materials with pointed arches and clustered columns. Jack went to the entrance of this building. A large man in a Viking outfit stood guard at one side of the door, and a placard was on the other side. Jack looked at the engravings in the placard: Warrior Academy. He had arrived at the right place.
"What's your business here?" The Viking asked when he saw Jack was about to enter.
"I would like to apply to become a Warrior," Jack answered with respect.
The Viking scrutinized Jack from head to toe before asking, "you are a Fighter?"
"Yes," Jack answered.
"You already reached level 15?"
"Yes, I have."
The Viking nodded, "Okay, go on then. Find an overseer named Gruff. He will let you know what to do."
Jack thanked him and entered.
Edited by OneFellSwoop
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