On the other side, there were a couple men gathered around. They wore pristine clothes, all the men were dressed in black from neck to ankle, with silver shoes.
"I have a van ready Arlo, it will take us to the institution"
Arlo looked at Axel, then in front of him. All he could see were multiple roads going in different directions and a vast green scenery.
There was a big building to his right, and multiple vehicles stationed to his left.
"Follow me, I'll show you the van"
Without a moment of hesitation, he started to walk behind Axel.
They both stood in front of a black van, its windows were tinted, the van was around two and a half meters tall. Axel quickly opened the door and sat In the driver's seat. Arlo opened the passenger door and sat next to Axel
"I know you might have wanted to see the city, but the institution is located at the outskirts of it, which unfortunately means no sightseeing for you"
He then started the car, put his foot on the pedal, and began driving to the Institution
"It will take us 40 minutes to get there so in the mean time I will tell you other important stuff that you need to know about, so that you can survive in the Fallen world and on Earth
He stared at the road, then sighed
"Their are names given to people who pass the Makutu trials, however these names are only given when they gain a new power. When you pass Makutu's first trial, you will be called a Survivor. That is the name bestowed upon you, not by Makutu but by humanity"
"When you complete the 3rd trial you will be called an Expert, after the 5th trial you will be labelled as a Ruler, on the 7th you will be referred to as a Monarch, completion of the 9th trial will make people think of you as a Deity and finally the 11th trial will make people refer to you as a Celestial being"
"The higher you go, the less human you are seen. It's unfortunate how selfish we humans are, we are nothing but slaves to people stronger than us. The Makutu has made us all into animals, so Arlo I hope you don't become like us"
He didn't talk for a while, the atmosphere in the van was tense, the silence was suffocating
"However some people believe Makutu to be some kind of entity, which is here to help us. The whole world is conflicted but I guess that's what makes us humans after all. Arlo whenever you get stronger, don't forget who you are and what you are."
"You are human"
He then glanced at Arlo for a moment
"Sorry for dumping all of that, it's something you will learn aboutas you continue to live. Also don't talk about the Makutu with people, it's quite a touchy subject, so it's best you just don't bring it up in a conversation"
Axel took a big breath in then exhaled
"Monsters have 6 ranks and 5 grades. The higher the grade the stronger they are in their respective rank."
"Monsters grade 1 through 5 are called. Beast, Fiend, Demon, Horror and Leviathan. Each much stronger than the one before it"
"The 6 ranks for monsters are - Infected, Wicked, Foul, Vile, Tainted and Impure. The difference in each rank is the same as night and day, each higher rank is immensely stronger than the one before"
After a couple seconds of silence, Axel asked in a curious tone
"Do you understand what I'm saying Arlo?"
Axel was dumping a lot of information on Arlo, but it wasn't that complicated for him
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"Yes, I understand the naming conventions and the monster ranks and grades"
Pleased with his answer, Axel nodded
"That's good to know"
A smile appeared on his face
"Now I'll tell you about the institution"
"As I said before it's a place to learn combat and survival, it's also a place to make friends because everyone there is in the same boat. It's early November right now so you have around 2 months of preparation before you go into the Fallen world"
Arlo calmly asked him
"Is there a fixed deadline on when I will go to the Fallen world"
Axel kept staring up ahead
"No, if you wanted to you could go to the Fallen world this instant, however it's best if you don't do that."
"The Makutu makes people go to the Fallen world twice a year, January the first and July the first. But you could also look at it more as a deadline"
"People who partially bloom after January the first have until July the first until they are forced into the Fallen world, but they can also willingly go into the Fallen world in between those two dates. And it's the same for people blooming after July the first"
"It's currently early November, so your deadline is January the first, which means you have about two months to prepare. It's not a lot but it's better than nothing"
Arlo scratched his chin for a couple seconds, he then faced Axel
"What should I do, when I'm in the Institution. I mean should I focus on combat or defence? During my time in institution"
Axel's eyes narrowed a bit, he seemed to be thinking quite hard
"Well Arlo you are from the outer border, which means you don't know the basic of fighting and survival"
"So I suggest during your time in the Institution. You should focus on Survival, offence and trying to eat 3 meals a day because you need a healthy body to survive "
"Learn the basics of wielding different weapons, I highly recommend a sword, bow and spear. These 3 weapons are very versatile and go hand in hand with each another"
"Survival is also really important, learn how to make a fire, be able to swim, be able to filtrate dirty water into clean water, how to cook monster meat and try to learn about the different regions in the Fallen world"
"You know what they say Arlo, knowledge is key. "
He then started to laugh for no reason
"Sir Axel could you tell me about the different kinds of tools?"
He nodded
"Tools have 6 ranks and 5 numerals - Regular, Great, Grand, Noble, Holy, and Cosmic. The higher the rank and numeral the tool is, the better it will be"
"Tools are also separated into 5 types - Offence, Defence, Service, Marked and Special. We don't exactly know the purpose of the last two types, because they are extremely rare to get, and are really bizarre"
"I'm pretty sure humanity has only gotten one marked and special tool. It just shows how rare they are"
This made Arlo wonder the rank of the tool he had been given by the protector of 'paradise', the Makutu didn't reveal its rank so it was up to him to guess its rank.
'It might be noble'
The Makutu was hiding a lot of things from Arlo, but why? The best guess he could come up with was, that he was simply not worthy to know
"We'll arrive at the institution in 10 minutes. Oh and don't worry about randomly turning up to the institution, it's quite common for people to just turn up at random times throughout the year"
"Every week the institution holds a gathering for newcomers. You're lucky Arlo, because they are holding a gathering today. It's the perfect opportunity for you to meet new people and build relationships"
"But don't stress about it to much, everyone there will be very nervous. So it won't be that difficult to make friends...hopefully"
Axel glanced at his device for a moment, then kept staring ahead
"The gathering starts at 9:30 but we'll arrive there by 9:10. Which will give you enough time to take a shower and wear a new set of clothes"
He then glanced at Arlo
"Looking presentable will make people approach you and it's really good at leaving a positive impression on others"
Arlo looked at his black trousers then his jumper, to him he didn't look that bad
"Sir Axel could I ask you something?"
Silence surrounded the van for a couple seconds
"Sure go ahead"
Arlo stared out the window, all he could see was green grass
"You've told me so much about the Fallen world, the naming conventions for people who have passed certain trials, the ranks and grades of monsters which reside in the Fallen world and many more things, but"
"Do you really think I'll survive the Fallen world"
Everything that Axel had told him, made him wonder if he was even capable of surviving in the Fallen world. It made him doubt himself
"I believe you will Arlo"
"You survived the situation Makutu gave you. Throughout the situation you could have easily given up and died, but you didn't. I'm sure you tried your best to survive because you didn't want to die."
"A person doesnt want to die because they have a reason to live"
"Whenever you feel like giving up think about the reason you keep on going. Think, why you've lived for so long"
"As you continue to grow, you'll find more reasons to live. Cherish those reasons for as long as you can Arlo"
"If you have something to fight for, than dying isn't an option"
Arlo looked at Axel for a brief moment, then back to the window, deep down Arlo knew Axel was right. He had lived for so long because he had a reason to not die
"Thank you sir Axel"
Axel paused for a moment before speaking
"A dear friend of mine used to say…"
A hint of sadness covered his face,only for a moment
"Life is a beautiful curse"