After taking a short break, Kaden logged back into the game and still lingered around the stone monkey territory. He had no plans of leaving the place for now. Under level 20, this was one of the decent leveling spots meant for large groups to efficiently farm experience points. Since he was already here, he might as well make use of the situation and grind out some levels.

Kaden swung his dagger around as he stood well placed with his back against another sturdy tree facing a horde of the stone monkeys. He was pretty much following the same strategy this time too, except now he had another beast at his beck and call. He was not sure just how useful Umbra was going to be considering that the beast was significantly weaker than the Level 15 plus stone monkeys but he quickly saw that he was worrying unnecessarily.

While the scrappy imp used its wings to evade the attacks of the relentless monkeys, the big black dog used its shadow step to swiftly maneuver through the tribe and deal lethal damage with its paws. The two barely took any damage while they dealt blow after blow to the stone monkeys, every hit striking a vital point thanks to the high intelligence of the two creatures.

Kaden also activated Sprint and Nimble Steps on cool down and this combined with Inferior Dagger Mastery increased his damage output tremendously. All three of them were clearing the cartload of stone monkeys so fast that the whole group was massacred within minutes. The stone monkeys were aggressive in nature and their usual strategy was to overwhelm the enemies with their numbers and their raw strength and defense. So the entire battle was extremely intense but at the end of it, Kaden gained a level, and both Scrap and Umbra gained a level too.

Kaden decidedly stayed in the same spot for a couple more hours and slaughtered more of the stone monkeys, taking regular breaks. By the time they left the area, Kaden had once again gained a level and the shadow stalker also gained another level, now catching up to the imp's progress. In the meantime, he mulled over a few things and had somewhat formed a plan in his mind. In the game, typically when a player chooses his class, they are usually able to choose some of the main kingdom quests. These are the main quest lines of the game and some of them lead to the player either choosing the Elysian Order or the Dark Legion.

The Elysian Order players mainly hang around and do quests from the affiliated kingdoms while the Dark Legion players hang around those affiliated kingdoms. In his last lifetime, both of these factions were equally famous and there were several popular players who stemmed from both. The only condition was that one faction couldn't enter the other territory without a proper questline or purpose.

Kaden was obviously kicked out as the city he had tried to enter was an Elysian Order city. In fact, he should have realized this the moment he saw the title. He had been so focused on all the things that he needed to accomplish that for a moment he overlooked something so basic. However, he still had one big problem and that was the area he was currently in. In 'Apocalypse Online' players were distributed into different newbie villages in different zones of the world based on their real-life locations.

The zone that Kaden was currently in was the Elysian Order zone. Many small kingdoms dotted this zone and they all fell under the rule of the Eastern Empire. Now to access the dark faction without any restraints, he needed to travel to an entirely different zone. The Nothern Empire and the Western Empire were both Dark Legion aligned Empires. Kaden needed to travel to either of these for smooth gameplay. He either needed to traverse the colossal distance that spanned between the four big Empires or he needed to find a teleportation portal to achieve this feat. This was easier said than done, especially at a lower level.

This was why most of the players who chose the dark faction were players who started in that region. This was something even recommended in the introduction given when one started the game. But now Kaden was stuck in a weird place. He was a Dark Legion player starting in an Elysian Order zone. In all honesty, this was not an uncommon occurrence at least at the beginning of the game. There were several players who did this just because of the novelty of things and also wanting to get some advantage over the other players, but this novelty quickly wore off.

Hundreds of players and streamers who had fallen for this regretted their decision, complained endlessly, and most restarted their accounts. This was a gut punch especially when it was revealed that one could casually switch to the Elysian Order or the Dark Legion at several points later in the game and have a more easier life. So it quickly became a rule that if you start in the Elysian Order, pick them and if you start in the Dark Legion zone pick them instead, at least temporarily.

However, this was a rule only for others. For Kaden, these rules did not apply. He was not like the other players as he knew things that others had no idea about. While the players who had chosen the wrong faction, in the beginning, suffered, four or five months into the game, it was revealed that there were indeed several corrupt cities within the Elysian Order kingdoms where players could easily start their character. By then it was too late as the game's popularity had already skyrocketed and many people had already created their accounts and had at least reached level 10.

But Kaden did not have that problem. It was only the second day of the game! He could easily travel to one of these corrupted cities and start his journey there. Moreover, there were also several titles and first achievements in these corrupted cities. There were also many titles and achievements in the normal cities but since only he was privy to information about these corrupted cities, he can possibly hit every single one of those without any competition! Everything was going to be his! Kaden grinned in excitement.

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Kaden continued grinding the stone monkey hordes and when he finally reached Level 18 and the monkeys became too inefficient for grinding experience points, he left the area. For his next plan of action, he needed to visit one of the corrupt kingdom cities. The easiest way to do this was to get on a carriage from Willowbrook, but since he couldn't enter the city, he would have to wait at one of the crossroads for the carriages to pass by and see which one would take him in.

Kaden dismissed his eye-catching pets and started walking toward the crossroads. On the way, he encountered a few dire wolves, feral wolves, and wild horned boars which he quickly took care of without any effort. It took about an hour to reach the nearest crossroads from which he could request a lift without arousing any suspicion. Luckily for him, right when he arrived there a caravan was passing through. The caravan consisted of several covered wagons pulled by sturdy twin-tailed black horses, guarded by armed escorts.

From the looks of it, it was a merchant cavern as most of the vehicles contained packaged goods. The armed escorts were also private mercenary escorts and not kingdom-affiliated soldiers as they did not have the kingdom's tabard on. This was perfect for Kaden. He approached the caravan, making sure to keep a nonchalant demeanor. He flagged down one of the guards, a burly man with a scar running across his cheek, and inquired about their destination.

"Excuse me, good sir," Kaden began, "I'm looking to travel to the Light Wind city. Would you happen to be heading in that direction?" The guard eyed Kaden warily, especially the items he had on him, sizing him up before responding. "Aye, we're headed to Shadowgate. So we will be crossing through the Light Wind, but as you can see we are busy and there is no space for you."

Kaden smiled. "Of course. Of course." He politely responded, at the same time taking out five silver coins from his inventory. He extended his hand, holding the coins toward the guard. "I understand the caravan is full, but perhaps there might be a way to accommodate one more passenger." He smiled again with a small wink. "This is a small token of my appreciation for your consideration." The guard's eyes lit up at the sight of the shiny coins. He glanced around, making sure no one else was watching, before clearing his throat and reaching out to accept the payment.

"Well, I suppose we could make some room for you. You'll have to ride at the back of one of the wagons, but it's better than being left here." Kaden nodded gratefully. "Thank you for your understanding. I assure you, I will cause no trouble and I'll be out of your way as soon as we reach Light Wind." The guard pocketed the silver coins and motioned for Kaden to follow him. They walked toward the last wagon in the caravan, where a small space had been cleared for additional cargo.

Kaden climbed aboard, finding a spot among the goods, and settled in for the journey. It was a five hour trip thanks to the speedy nature of these carriages. As the caravan set off, Kaden leaned back against the wagon's cargo, feeling the rhythmic motion of the carriage beneath him. The sound of hooves hitting the ground and the creaking of the wheels filled the air as they traveled along the dusty road. He let out a sigh and his thoughts then turned to the corrupt kingdom city he was about to visit.

Kaden jogged his mind trying to remember all the quests he had heard about in this city. Though he did not know many unique and special quests in the city, he had a general idea about some quests. Most of them were assassination-type quests of friendly NPCs roaming around in the wilderness and collecting raw materials that were exclusively available in the Empire and delivering them to the Dark Legion representatives.

And once he had enough reputation, he should be able to take one of their help and use a portal to reach the friendly Empire, where there were so many more quests. Easy peasy. Though his start had been a little wonky, thanks to the unexpected treasure chest, now everything was back on track. Almost. If not he could always hit the reset button and go after the hidden class quest that was in the capital city of the Silverhaven Kingdom.

Kaden sighed in relief, closing his eyes for a well-deserved nap. Even though he had leveled up with sufficient stats in strength and stamina and had prior experience to handle the stress and tiredness of actual combat in the game, he still needed to rest. The five hour journey was a good time to rest and Kaden used this chance to stretch his limbs and lie down comfortably in the wagon after pushing aside a few boxes. Soon the five hours flew by and the caravan came to a halt at the outskirts of the city.

Kaden stirred awake from his nap, and peered out of the wagon, his gaze landing on the sprawling city before him, its tall walls and splendid architecture towering over the surrounding landscape. With a grin, Kaden rubbed his hands and jumped off the wagon. He thanked the guard who had allowed him passage and stepped onto the dusty road. The city was bustling with activity with NPCs wandering here and there. This was not one of the starting zone cities so there weren't any players around. If he was correct, then he had to be the first to enter the city.

Kaden made his way towards the entrance gate, where two heavily armed guards stood watch. Approaching the guards, he greeted them with a confident nod. "Good day, sirs." He took out 2 silver coins and extended them to the gate guards. This was one of the cities with a very high entrance fee but it was worth it. After all, there was so much he had to do in this city. His very future might depend on the quests he completed in this city.

Kaden's mind wandered to the next steps as he shifted his attention from the guards to the street in front of him. However, the next second… The two guards frowned. The guards exchanged a glance, their expressions stern and suspicious. One of them, a burly man with a scar across his forehead, stepped forward and spoke in a gruff voice.

"Who are you? You look like you are up to no good!"

"Huh?" Kaden turned around, his face full of confusion. Don't tell me! Not fucking again!!!

And just as the worst possible scenario crept inside his brain, the two guards unsheathed their weapons.