The steady, rhythmic footsteps alerted everyone in the square.

Even the chaotic players paused their steps as they were forcefully mixed in with the confused Avalan Citizens.

"Stand at ready!"

THUMP!

The unison sound of metal boots colliding with the bricked ground carried everyone's focus. Around the square, town guards in matching armour kept anyone from entering or exiting the town square, church, and the nearby town hall.

Murmurs set across the confused people as some players stealthily began to record the scene using the system's record feature.

"Hey, you know what event this is?"

"How would I know? I just logged in and got thrown out of the church."

The players seemed relatively calm. It was the Avalan Citizens that were panicked. They had only seen so many guards together when the island was first cleared and populated many suns ago.

"Honey, stay close. Don't leave my side."

"Okay, dad."

Click, clack. Click, clack.

The sound of heeled boots, followed by the thump of an opening door, gathered the attention of everyone—all for the wrong reason.

"Woah, what a babe."

Slap!

"Jared!"

"What!? It's just a game. Not like I was going to marry her."

Another player nearby chuckled as they softly spoke under their breath.

"I don't think even maxed out Charisma would help him."

Meanwhile, a feeble man was attempting to get up at another spot nearby.

Groan.

Percival shifted his body up with great effort as he peered at the raven-black hair that danced behind the woman. Something deep within his heart beat twice as he looked at the beautiful goddess walking to a hastily set podium.

"She's perfect."

A short distance away, Novus was still staring at the sky with his eyes closed.

What about if I drained the mana from my system? Then, maybe it would make the system think I was already dead. Would it still try and revive me if it can't find any mana source? Maybe then—

"LISTEN UP!"

The shout shook Novus from his odd fascination with death, and he bolted upright like a frazzled cat.

The magically amplified voice continued to carry across the entire area, silencing any small talk.

"Attention, apostles. I, Masika, am the CHIEF advisor of Avalan. GOT THAT!? GREAT. Here are the ground rules…."

Novus' body eased as he realized his life was in no danger. An odd feeling, he realized, considering he would likely revive regardless. But, old habits die hard.

"Firstly, Avalan won't be your murder playground. So no fighting, killing, stealing, harassing…."

As Novus relaxed from his fight or flight response, he only now got an honest look at the woman on the podium. Her features were beautiful, not the best he'd ever seen, but up there. But that wasn't what made his brows scrunch together.

There was something about her. Something familiar.

"… you won't get away with any of it! If I get even a WHIFF of it, straight to the dungeon for all of you involved! Not even the divine will be able to…."

Novus' eyes widened.

It'd be impossible. Well, as impossible as a dimensional prison could get, Which was possibly quite possible.

"…Secondly, you will be considered the island's primary lab— expeditionary force in your journey to defeat the world's evils!"

Masika cleared her throat at the almost slip-up and continued.

Meanwhile, Novus barely contained an overwhelming feeling.

Solace!

Novus' internal scream was met with Solace's voice resounding in reply.

《 Solace greets Novus. 》

Solace! Did others come from my world like me?

《 Negative. No other being has completed the dimensional travel to this lifetime through the system. 》

Novus' body tensed with the response.

When he looked back up, he locked eyes with Masika for a split second as she talked.

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"Your duties as the primary expeditionary force include exploration, clearing areas for grow—th, and many other tasks which will become clear. NO SLACKING!"

The brief pause in her voice cemented something for Novus.

She knows me. That must be it.

But that only raised more questions in Novus' mind. A seemingly endless number of questions pained Novus as Masika neared the end of her speech.

Ahem.

A nearby town guard brought over a cup of water to quench Masika's thirst, like they already knew it would happen beforehand.

"Lovely."

Masika looked out onto the crowd, almost wondering why they were still standing there.

"THAT'S ALL. GO AWAY!"

Masika left the podium and slammed the town hall doors shut with her final words.

"DISPERSE!"

The guard captain slammed his metal boot into the ground, causing the other town guards to do the same in unison. Then, many of them marched away with their captain to do divine-knows-what. However, some remained in the town square, much to the chaotic player's disapproval.

"Thankfully, they were busy when we finished off that jerk."

Percival remarked with relief as he stared at the higher-levelled guards. Then, not hearing any response, Percival turned to see Novus' entranced expression. Following his eyes, Percival traced the line of sight towards the town hall doors.

Percival snickered to himself as he misread Novus' intentions. But then, he felt something strange.

This was the crimson-haired man that had beaten him to oblivion and back. Yet, he never went too far with his beatings. He seemed more genuine than most people he had met and had good taste in beauty. It was refreshing. At the same time, Percival got a chill when he noticed Novus stand up.

Yup, this was the crimson-haired man that had beaten fear into his bones.

Percival quickly shifted his fingers across some screens.

Percival has sent you a friend request.

Accept / Reject

The screen appeared before Novus, interrupting his trainwreck of thoughts. Novus didn't like having his thoughts interrupted. He swiped away the screen blockading his vision, much to Percival's horror.

Percival has sent you a friend request.

Accept / Reject

…

Percival has sent you a friend request.

Accept / Reject

…

"If you send one more, we go round three."

Percival felt shivers across his spine. But, those shivers turned into relief in the next moment.

Friend request accepted. You are now friends with the player Novus.

Like a bird fluttering around his figure, Percival tried to make small talk with Novus. Percival tried just about everything from skills to real-life chatter. However, Novus was so profoundly wrapped up in his questioning thoughts that nothing made it through to him.

Percival scrunched his lips together before simply shaking his head.

"See you later, I guess."

Percival logged out in the blink of an eye, right as Novus turned around to stop the annoying fly buzzing around him.

What?

Novus looked around the spot where Percival disappeared for a moment.

My mind must be suffering. I can't even sense where he went. Where did he get magic like that?

That left Novus alone. Kind of. There were still town guards roaming around, and for some reason, they kept quite a close eye on Novus. It wasn't like he had beheaded someone or anything. There's no way it was that.

Novus' brows relaxed as his thoughts receded, and his steps took him to the town hall doors. His hands were about to reach the metal door handles before Novus sensed two significant presences bursting with killing intent.

Novus backpedalled fast as the doors to the town hall swung open, revealing two grizzled guards in scratched armour. Their tone resembled their superior: Masika.

"No entry, kid. Miss Masika's orders. Either get strong enough to break in or scram. No soliciting."

Novus squinted his eyes, not out of anger but to try something out. His attention warped something around the guards as a word box appeared.

NPC - Town Guard (Elite)

Rank: ???

Level: ???

Congratulations! You have unlocked the ability Identify.

Upon activating the ability, both guards turned to look at Novus.

"Oi, kid. Shoo before I make you."

It looks like they sensed it. Not surprising. I'm too weak right now to be covert. But really, shouldn't the ability show a little bit more?

The glares of the guards meant nothing to Novus; it was more so their well-worn spears that let him know these guards meant business. They had likely seen a couple of skirmishes. Maybe a small battle or four.

Suddenly, one guard's arm raised, throwing the spear in his hand.

"ACK!"

The spear lodged into a person trying to climb to one of the town hall windows. The next moment, they disappeared into a set of glittering lights, which meant they were just another foolish player.

Novus took the opportunity to make some distance as he pondered once more.

So, sneaking isn't an option. The guards likely won't let a braggart in either, which means convincing them I'm someone important isn't going to work.

Novus sighed as he recalled what the elite town guard had said.

I suppose it's the universal option, then. Might makes right.

Novus chuckled to himself.

No matter what world you're in, it's always the same. Get stronger, no matter what.

Novus took a deep breath as he turned away from the town hall. A slip of murderous intent seeped out but was brought back in before anyone nearby could notice.

Time to train.