Two days have passed since Axel Blaze and Max left Kat Town. Now they are in a different carriage with different people traveling to Galang City early in the morning.
[Status Window Upgrade 99%]
Sitting in the carriage, Axel Blaze wiped the corner of his eye with his index finger, looking sad. The Status Window upgrade, which should have been completed last night has been stuck at 99%. And it doesn't show any signs of completion.
"I am so sad. Only if there was a beautiful and kind-hearted woman nearby who would console me. Sniff, sniff." Axel Blaze muttered in a clear audible voice while stealing glances at a young woman sitting opposite to him.
The woman is about 18 years old and is traveling with her old father.
Hearing Axel Blaze, the woman just giggled shyly.
Ah, is this an ok sign? She didn't curse me like other women. Is my bachelor life finally going to end?
Axel Blaze starts contemplating his next move to impress the woman but before he can take any action they have already arrived at Galang City. It's time to bid farewell to the beauty.
Axel Blaze sighed looking at the old man and the woman walking towards the checkpoint.
Max patted Axel Blaze's shoulder from behind, "I am glad you have cheered up after sulking for a day or two— What happened at Kat Town was quite unfortunate." Max sighed.
"Being carefree is one of my fortes. As for what happened at Kat town..." Axel Blaze smirked, shaking his head.
Let's say, it's never late for a man to take his revenge. But going for it unprepared is just foolishness.
That's what he thought but not what he spoke.
"Forget about it." Muttering, Axel Blaze walked towards the checkpoint.
"You are kind, my friend. If I was in your place, I doubt I would be able to forgive them so easily— Your heart is as big as the ocean." Max admired.
Axel Blaze staggered a bit hearing this.
It's good if you think that way.
Thinking this, Axel Blaze walked to the checkpoint and put his hand on a spherical crystal ball. Nothing happened, so he was allowed to pass to register his name for entry.
The crystal ball is available in every town and city. It is called a Crime Crystal used to identify criminals. If a criminal puts their hand on the crystal, it will shine red.
...
"That will be 250 amilots" The man in-charge of the check point informed Axel Blaze.
"After concession?" Axel Blaze asked.
"Yes. All towns and cities have their own toll charges but one thing is common between them, people affiliated with the Adventure Guild are exempted from 100% toll tax and people affiliated with Commerce Guild are exempted from 50% toll tax. People other than these two have to pay 100% toll tax." The man explained.
"So how long will you be staying in the city?" The man asked.
"A week—probably." Axel Blaze answered.
"Then that would be 250 amilots. If you stay even one day more than a week, you will be charged another 250 amilots." The man informed.
Then using their Status Window, clicking the [A0000], amilots button and inputting the numbers and trade information in the trading window, Axel Blaze paid the man 250 amilots.
"Here's your permit." The man handed over a small piece of paper with a stamp.
"Next." With the man's call, Axel Blaze entered the town while Max completed his formalities and joined him soon after.
...
"By the way Max, I forgot to ask this but what is a Player and NPC?" Axel Blaze asked while eating lunch with Max.
Max frowned, "Where did you hear this?"
"It was during the Orc raid. I met the porter Ahamad who said the main party is made up of Players or something. And I also heard them call Ahamad a NPC." Axel Blaze replied.
Max chugged down a glass of beer and wiped his mouth. He toned down his voice, "What I am about to tell you is quite a sensitive topic. So keep your voice down ok?"
Axel Blaze nodded.
Max seemed to calculate something with his fingers, after a while he spoke, "Do you remember about 7 years ago the world faced total darkness for a few seconds?"
"You mean the solar eclipse?" Axel Blaze asked.
"Solar eclipse?" "Well, I guess most people think of it that way. But reality is something different." Max leaned a bit closer to Axel Blaze.
"That day, towards the far east, a huge gate suddenly appeared out of nowhere and soon people from another world started to appear from the gate." Max whispered.
"Another world?" Axel Blaze yelped but then put his hand on his mouth and apologized with his eyes to the shushing Max.
Max looked left and right, then continued, "It is said that those people are from a planet called Earth and are favored by the gods. Even at level 1 they are way stronger than the level 1 people of Seraphine."
Max puckered his brows, "At first they acted quite friendly with the people of Seraphine but soon they showed their true colors— Once there occurred some discrepancies between those people and one of the locals. In anger, they slaughtered a whole village."
Axel Blaze gulped hearing this.
Max drank some beer and cleared his throat then continued, "The incident didn't end there. Soon similar cases started to occur in various places in our Vithal Kingdom and at last the King himself had to come forward."
"Do you know what is ridiculous?" Max asked mysteriously.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
"What?" Axel Blaze followed the book.
"When the King asked the reason for their ruthless behavior, the leader of those Earth people just scoffed, saying, 'what's wrong about slaughtering NPCs? You will just respawn anyways'." Max snorted.
Axel Blaze made a confused look.
Max explained, "NPC stands for Non Playable Character. In their terms it is something like they can't possess our bodies and make use of it or something like that." Max spoke with uncertainty.
Axel Blaze shivered hearing this.
"This..." Axel Blaze hissed.
"Don't worry, it's just a misconception." Max consoled.
He continued, "Those people from the other world thought of this world as a game which they call Videogame. Where they play as Players and we who are a part of the game's set are called NPCs. That's why they thought we are some kind of immortals who can revive after some time. But their superstition was soon cleared after the King kicked their ass with an army of 10,000 high level soldiers."
"But what's done was done and there are no ways to close that gate connecting to Earth. And as those people from Earth are favored by gods, the King thought it is better to make truce with them. The King decided to let them enter Seraphine on terms that they won't harm innocent people—Well there must have been some secret agreements as well. Who knows?" Max shrugged.
"Also, it's a good deal for those people from Earth as similar to us as they also get Wanted tags for killing fellow humans. If they didn't stop, they would have been hunted sooner or later as those Wanted tags provide quite a lot of Experience Points and loot. And killing Wanted people doesn't give you the Wanted tag." Max snorted.
"Anyways, nowadays those people are called Travelers, while we are called Residents. The terms Player and NPC are rarely used unless those people are newbies." Max concluded.
"If there are people from other worlds living in Seraphine, why don't I see them often?" Axel Blaze asked with confusion.
Max smiled, "Well, those people from other worlds are all humans just like us, how will you differentiate them? The only way is to use 'Inspect' but that's impolite. Also, they can return to their own world anytime while we can't go to their world."
"Oh." Axel Blaze looked disappointed hearing the last line.
Looking at his disappointment, Max informed, "It is said that if you can cross Area-3, you can go to their world." Max spoke while chewing his food.
"Area-3?" Axel Blaze asked with confusion.
Max made an awkward face, "Just which corner of the world are you from? Never heard of Area?" Max asked.
"Well... Meri Town is quite a desolate place, there rarely are any foreigners visiting there. A merchant who travels there once a month is our only connection to the outer world." Axel Blaze spoke with a helpless smile.
Max gaped, staring at Axel Blaze, he took a deep breath through his teeth, "And you left the town to become an adventurer without knowing anything?" Max looked amazed.
"Now I understand why you were so easily fooled by Luke and his party." Max nodded with confirmation.
Axel Blaze snorted, "And you weren't fooled by them?"
"Er..." Max looked ashamed and at a loss for words.
"Well, I read some books on adventures and also read the biography of the hero Rodrick. I thought this much knowledge would be enough to become an adventurer." Axel Blaze said nonchalantly.
"The dwarf Rodrick?" Max asked with amazement.
"Huh?" Axel Blaze looked confused.
"What do you mean by dwarf Rodrick? I am talking about the hero Rodrick and saintess Media." Axel Blaze explained.
"That's who I am talking about as well—Ah wait..." Max thought of something suddenly.
"Now I remember. Did you read the book titled, The Tales Of Rodrick?" Max asked.
"Yes. Is there any other biography of the hero Rodrick available other than that?" Axel Blaze asked with excitement.
"No." Max poured cold water on Axel Blaze's anticipation.
"Oh." Axel Blaze looked dejected.
"Well anyways, now I know why you think of Rodrick as a human." Max nodded.
"As you know how demihumans are discriminated against in human society and are forbidden from becoming adventurers here, Rodrick hid his identity with some high grade item and rose to become a Supreme rank adventurer— But what made him a hero was not his rank but his Class. Despite being a Paladin from the Support Class, he could fight equally with the Hero job of Warrior Class!" Max praised.
He then looked dejected, "But later it came out that he is a dwarf and was banished. And since the world already heard his name, the book 'The Tales of Rodrick' depicted him as a human. It was just a political move, nothing else." Max expressed sympathy in his tone.
Axel Blaze took a deep breath and asked, "But since he was using a high grade item, how did they find out about his identity?"
Max shrugged, "Who knows, I wasn't born at that time."
"But if I have to guess, there is a high chance that the saintess snitched on him." Max concluded.
"Really?" Axel Blaze asked with doubt.
"The announcement of Rodrick's banishment and the engagement of the Saintess and the Crown Prince happened on the same day— Hero Rodrick and Saintess Media were always a two men party so there's no way there would be a third person to know about Rodrick's true identity." Max replied.
"But still..." Axel Blaze still couldn't believe it as the love between hero Rodrick and saintess Media was one of the highlights of 'The Tales Of Rodrick'.
"That's why I said it's just a guess. Anyways it has nothing to do with us—Ah, I am sorry if I ruined the image of your idol hero." Max apologized.
"It's fine. Hero Rodrick was more of a goal than an idol." Axel Blaze smiled.
Max stood up, "Well, let's go to the Adventure Guild. You said you wanted to try registering again didn't you? I will see if I can provide some help."
"Ah, thanks. Let's go." Axel Blaze stood up as well.
Then both men left the restaurant walking towards the Adventure Guild.
"Hey, you forgot to tell me about what Area-3 is." Axel Blaze reminded.
"Oh, I really forgot about it." Max slapped his forehead.
"You see, before we thought that level 50 is the highest one can reach but in truth there are levels higher than that." Max replied.
"What?" Axel Blaze jumped with shock.
"Right? This was also my reaction when I first discovered this." Max laughed.
"People thought that after reaching level 50, you either become the strongest in the world or ascend to godhood. After all, there are cases of people disappearing after reaching level 50. Even the hero Rodrick disappeared— But the truth was revealed after the gate appeared." Max explained.
He continued, "Area. It is said that Seraphine is a disc-like structure which is divided into several circular segments. Us standing on the edge of the disc, as your level increases you reach towards the center of the disc. And at the center..." Max looked towards the sky with glittering eyes, "It is said at the center is the Paradise where the gods reside."
He looked at Axel Blaze and continued leading the way, "Where we are is called Area-1. After reaching level 50, you can pass through the barrier and head to Area-2. Similarly after every 50 levels, you can cross to the next area. And at Area-4 is where the gods start paying attention to you. It is said that if you can gain their favor, there is a high chance that they will grant any of your wishes." Max spoke with fervor.
"Wow." Axel Blaze exclaimed with shock.
"This is something we should be thankful for to the people of Earth. It is their appearance that caused this change. After the gate appeared, it became possible for people to travel back and forth between areas. That's how many disappeared people suddenly returned back to Area-1 spreading the truth." Max spoke with gratitude.
"So level 50 is not the highest huh?" Axel Blaze murmured.
"I don't know what the highest level is, but level 50 is definitely not the highest." Max confirmed.
"The word has changed." Axel Blaze murmured again.
"Indeed. It has changed a lot." Max confirmed again.
Chatting, the duo walked into the Adventure Guild. Axel Blaze walked to the counter followed by Max. After that it was a series of persuading and pleading but nothing worked. At the end the duo walked out dejected.
Axel Blaze couldn't become an adventurer.
"Don't be disheartened, we can try again at the Capital. I will ask my best friend there, he can definitely find a way for you." Max consoled.
"It's fine. You have already done a lot for me. And it's not like Adventure Guild is the only place which hires adventurers." Axel Blaze spoke softly.
"Are you thinking of joining some private guild?" Max asked.
"Maybe." Axel Blaze spoke with uncertainty.
"Well, not all private guilds are bad. Maybe we can find a reputable one for you. I will check with my best friend." Max rubbed his chin.
Axel Blaze frowned, "Who is this best friend you keep talking about? You also mentioned him in the carriage before. Listening to you, this best friend of yours sounds like some important figure. Who is he?" Axel Blaze asked.
"You will see." Max patted Axel Blaze's shoulder and kept it a mystery.
Axel Blaze rolled his eyes and gave up on the thought of further inquiry.
The duo went out of the town to hunt monsters till night.
At night they booked separate rooms at an inn and went to rest.
Laying on the bed, Axel Blaze opened his Status Window.
"It is still stuck at 99%" Axel Blaze sighed.
"When will you complete? I am expecting quite a lot from you." Axel Blaze made a pleading look.
"Hope a miracle happens." He murmured, closing his eyes, falling into deep sleep.