Hero ? That was the first time someone called him a hero, it felt a bit strange given that he had no merit or whatsoever.
“Why are you calling me a hero? I’m pretty sure it’s the first time I come here.”
“Indeed it is your first time in our world. Your parent sent you to fight for him in the incoming war. Should they unleash their power here, our world would fall apart immediately. But you should focus on becoming stronger before thinking about taking part in this war.”
“Slow down please. Your parent. They. Who are you referring to ?”
At this moment the priest looked at him in disbelief and Liam grew anxious. Did he said something wrong ? Why was the priest looking at him like this ? The priest sighed before answering.
“Gods. To whom else could I refer to ? “
‘ Interesting, unlike other games where you spawn as a random adventurer,here you actually are a Greek Hero, son/daughter of a deity. That’s so cool, I want to try Heracles twelve labors, if they still exist though. But wait, if I am a hero, who is my parent ?’
“You say that one of my parent is a god, who is it ?”
“ I don’t know ..” , at this moment all his expectations collapsed, “ .. yet ..” , once again he felt hope, “ .. but you will have to wait two weeks before being acknowledged.”, hope that, soon after, died again. But something caught his mind.
“ What do you mean by being acknowledged ?”
“ In two weeks, if you are worth it, your parent will send you a gift. “
Surprised by what the priest said, Liam quickly asked: “ If I am worth it ? What do you mean? Not everybody get recognized ? “
Before the priest could answer a group of soldiers entered the temple and the priest left Liam and went to meet them. ‘What a rude priest leaving me on my own.’ But Liam was still intrigued by those soldiers who got all the priest attention. There were three of them, one was talking to the priest while the others stood behind him. They wore a black cuirass certainly made of leather, a belt with a silver wolf head and a black leather pant matching their cuirass. Attached to it was a long blood colored cape which with their helmet representing a wolf head gave an ominous feeling. Completing their equipment were 2 swords attached to their ankle.
As Liam left, the soldiers fixed their gaze on him, which scared him a little and he started walking faster. When he left the temple he stopped abruptly, in front of him was a crowded avenue where merchants had their stalls installed, differents flavors reached him, fresh bread, fish … ‘ During my conversation with the priest I forgot where I was but .. wahou, this feels so genuine even if it’s a game. These people do not look like normal NPCs, they behave like real people, I can’t find a pattern in their behavior .. ‘.
Liam went down the stairs were a soldier was standing.
“Excuse me, I would like information.” , as Liam talked the soldier turned towards him.
“ Yes hero ? What can I do for you ?”
“ How do you know that I am a hero ? “ a smile almost unnoticeable appeared on his face as he called himself a hero.
“ Obviously from your clothes.” Liam checked what he was wearing, it was a sober white tunic with golden embroideries maintained by a plain belt and a pair of leather boots. “ From your look I can tell it’s your first time in our world, follow me I will lead you to the forum, Captain Alkimos will be able to answer all your questions.” Liam followed the guard for 20 minutes and he learnt quite a bit from him.
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The city he appeared in was called Amphipolis, it was famous for its dungeons linked to dark old gods and its dark wolf legion, the same soldiers Liam saw inside the temple. According to his escort, only soldiers who cleared a famous dungeon or shone on the battlefield could join their rank. They were called dark wolves due to their first commander who killed a wolf deity running amok near the city, he later created this order and chose the best fighters in order to protect the city from powerful beings. The soldier also told Liam how heros started to appear around the known world after the Oracle saw in her vision a war claiming millions of lives.
Liam entered the forum alongside the soldier, they passed through a dozen of rooms before finally stopping. They were in a huge room filled with people, some were talking while others read or played a game similar to chess. The soldier led them in front of a huge table, a man wearing full plate armor was talking to an old man clinging to his staff. ‘ A wizard ? ‘
“ Excuse me Captain, this hero just arrived and seemed a bit lost.”
As soon as the captain nodded the soldier left the room. Captain Alkimos was a tall man, his well developed muscles as well as his numerous scars were a proof of his experience as a soldier. A large claymore was attached on his back, it was almost as tall as him, its handle was made of gold while its blade was pitch black.
“ What’s your name boy?”
“Liam.” He gave his real name without a second thought.
“Liam ... We used to provide lodging and a training ground for newcomers but with the incoming war we had to change our plans, right now we can only offer you a contract . If you wish to take part in this war we can train you with our soldiers, provide you a tent, food and weapons but you will have to fight for this city, otherwise you will be considered a traitor and will be hunted down.”
“ It seems to be a fair offer but before agreeing I want to ask a few questions. First, I suppose that I am not the first one who got this offer, what did the others answer ? Secondly, should I refuse your offer, what other profession can I do in this city in order to become stronger ?”
“ As you must suspect, most refuse it and prefer train on their own, they don’t want to be associated to our city so quickly. Some of them register in the Mercenary Guild or join the Magic Order, other prefer to adventure alone and more rarely they become the personal guard of nobles. “
“ How is it possible for them to become the personal guard of nobles so quickly ? I mean they arrived 3 hours ago at best. “
“ I don’t know what you mean but heroes started to appear 2 months ago.”
‘2 months ? How is that possible ? Are these heroes beta testers ?’. Captain Alkimos looked at him the same way the priest had looked at him 1 hour ago when he asked who was his parent.
‘ Even if adventuring sounds cool and exciting, free meals and training from experienced soldiers are unvaluable in the early stages of the game… I may even become an officer before the beginning of the war, I want to give it a try !’
“ I accept your offer captain, when do I start ?”
“ Right now ! “ . At this moment the captain grew serious and yelled :” Doru come here !”
A man came running “ Yes captain ?”. Doru had long black hairs that fell below his shoulders and partially covered the round shield attached to his back. “ This is our new recruit, he will train with your pentekostyes from now on, keep him safe but do not spare him. In a week he will come with us to clear the dark dungeon near the river.”. As Alkimos talked, Doru became aware of Liam’s presence and glared at him which made him uncomfortable as Liam could only see Doru’s eyes through his helmet. “ Yes captain, it will be done !”.
“Follow me.” Doru turned and started walking, he led Liam to a training ground where fifty spearmen were training. The soldiers were stabbing, slashing and parrying invisible enemies in unison, as they did they always took cover behind their shield which has the same symbol as the one carried by Duno, two black spears crossed on a white background.
“ Show me you Status Screen. “
‘ And I forgot the basics of RPGs … ‘.
“ Status Screen “
Character Status
Name: Liam Race: Human Gender: Male Leven: 0
Strength: 8 Endurance : 13 Agility: 14 Dexterity : 11 Intelligence: 7 Willpower: 9
Duno scanned Liam’s stat, mumbled something after each stat and finally said:
“ Light type.. Boy, I will assign you to the scout team. “