It was an excessively opulent hotel. The walls were all decorated with Wyvern scales in different patterns. Some mixed red and green, while others had a black and white layout of a chessboard. On the corners of each corridor, there was a gemstone column. Massive emeralds, rubies, and opals, each three meters tall, seemed to hold the place together. This luxury was replicated inside each room. The higher the floor, the more rare and precious materials were used to decorate the hotel. One floor of executive suites, which were decorated with the bones of a creature called Jade Saber Tooth, was being used as a dressing room for several people who would participate in the day's events. Some were performers who would entertain the crowd. Others would help present the city to the public. Even some of the staff members organizing everything were in those rooms. Tucked away in the far corner of this floor, in what was arguably the worst located room among those, there was a reporter who was around in almost every major event of the last year.
Someone knocked on the door before asking, "Miss Swan, the broadcast will start in two hours. Do you need anything else?"
"No, thank you, Stephan. Actually, could you pass that information to the rest of my crew. I fear some of them might have exaggerated last night," Becca replied absentmindedly. It's been almost two years since she got her big break when she reported the assault on the wall and the wendigos that came along with it. Ever since then, Becca Swan was a name recognized everywhere. She interviewed a new explorer who killed a wendigo on the first layer alone, then about the deal between the guild and the New Dawn.
At that point, Becca started to cherry-pick her assignments. Unlike what some people said, she wasn't there because of the fame. No, Becca wanted to be a serious reporter. Stories about skincare routines and mindless propaganda weren't the type of thing that she dreamed of doing. She wanted to investigate, show people what was going on in the deepest layers of the MAZE, reveal secrets to the public, and talk about protests, conflicts, and things that would leave a mark. Her first pick was something that seemed like just a fluff piece to help people distract themselves. Together with Dark Star and Bright Night, she went inside the towers in the 26th layer even if she was severely under-leveled. In there, she was able not only to put on a show but to find some information that helped people who wanted to challenge the test of the tower to succeed. Not just that, but her next piece, published as an article instead of a video, revealed that the cause for everyone suddenly getting an extra role skill was because all roles had completed the tower at least once. To top it off, she also talked with several scholars and researchers who focused on the MAZE and the system, which resulted in the headline.
The System can level up.
Such a simple idea took the world by storm, and although it was mostly metaphorical, most people seemed to accept that idea to the chagrin of the scientific community. It wasn't that the scientists didn't believe or had similar ideas, but that there was no way to prove it. So far, only two instances of the system changing have been recorded. The first was the creation of the roles, and the second was the appearance of the tower as well as the new skills, but Becca's article went beyond that. Some of the people she talked about hypothesized that the system was constantly 'gaining experience,' so to speak. However, unlike how it worked with people, only significant events would affect the system. That's why it took so long for a significant change. Becca found those ideas interesting and decided to publish those theories even with very little data to back them up in hopes that more people would join the search for answers.
When that article picked up enough buzz, Becca started making articles and reporting about the treatment of people inside the MAZE. She focused her efforts on showing the difference between those who lived inside and outside the MAZE. The changes that happened with children because of the environment and how some places had an unjust treatment to the other races, especially in lower layers forcing anyone that wasn't human to spend their lives in danger needlessly. This happened mostly because the existence of other races wasn't common knowledge for people outside the MAZE. Humanity had a history of war and conflict, and before creating the guild, some nation or kingdom was always waging war against another race. After Cyrus rallied all the kingdoms and created the guild, people suggested hiding the existence of other races to the population that way. There wouldn't be as much hatred in their hearts when they first entered the MAZE. After Romeo, the current chairman of the guild, stopped controlling the information from the MAZE, tensions were high. Many people were worried about these other races, and the idea of them coming outside was scary, especially when they considered that children born inside the MAZE were much stronger than those from Earth.
Becca was reminiscing about her work during the last year when another person knocked on the door.
"Mind if I come in, Miss Swan?" a familiar voice came from outside.
"I told you to call me Becca, Romeo. Miss Swan is my mother. Come in," Becca replied.
A large man with short red hair with an extensive receding hairline, a long braided beard under a large plump nose, and big green eyes walked inside the room, "How is everyone treating you?"
"They are all very helpful, and thanks for letting my team stay in the hotel."
"Of course. We want this to work. A lot of people have put on a lot of effort to get us here. I can barely believe that we built a city this big in just six months," Romeo smiled.
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"It would probably be less if you didn't have to make the hotel this gaudy. I mean, c'mon, tiger stripe walls? Even someone with no taste can see that this is tacky," Becca rolled her eyes.
"I get it, but this one wasn't my fault. The elves wanted to make the most expensive hotel possible and well. They did it. I'm betting that it costs 30-40 billion just to make this room."
"I guess they just want to show that they also have money. Can't blame them after everything that is going on."
Romeo nodded, "Yeah. Which brings me to the reason I came here. Becca, can I ask you to …"
"No," Becca cut him off.
"You don't even know what I'm going to ask."
"You want me not to mention the protests and the tension that building this place caused. You want today to be about everyone coming together as one and not about the differences and cracks in our alliances. Did I miss anything?"
"I mean… I would appreciate it if you didn't mention that my hairline went back a few centimeters since the last time I appeared on TV."
"That is the only part of that request that I can do. I told you when we first started working together. I'm not going to hide anything or pretend like something big is not happening. I can help make a story more grim or give people more hope, but the stories themselves already have to lean to that side," Becca was still applying make-up and didn't even look away from the mirror while speaking.
Romeo sighed and tossed a set of keys on top of the dresser Becca was using, "I had a feeling you would say that. Those are the keys to the roof. You can see the central square from there and the group protesting in front of the building. Something tells me that this is the kind of stage you wanted to use."
Becca smiled and picked the keys, "If you had this ready, why even ask me not to talk about the protest?"
"Well, I have to at least try to get my way, don't I. Otherwise, I would be too much of a pushover. Just remember this when I ask you for a favor, OK?" Romeo left the room with a wave.
Picking up her tablet, Becca sent a text to her team talking about the location change. That was the worst possible news they could've received. During the last couple of days, they tested the acoustics, lighting, and camera position in the small news tower that was by the central square. Now, they had just a few hours to change all their settings to fit the new environment. Thankfully, Becca's crew was great in what they did, and they were more used to recording in odd areas than in a proper and well-structured news platform.
Becca finished doing her makeup and took the elevator to the top floor, then the stairs to the roof. As soon as she opened the door, Becca stopped to admire the view. The city had a circular shape, and the buildings had a mix of ancient architecture with large columns and statues with futuristic designs that focused on round shapes and high-tech structures. There were also trees everywhere. The entire city was built using an Eco-friendly approach. All the energy from here would be coming from either solar panels, mana crystals, or the tidal generator set up in the ocean to the north. Right outside the northern gates, there was a white sand beach, and the water had bioluminescent properties that made it glow with the moonlight. To the south, there was a long stretch of bluegrass for about twenty kilometers before reaching a mountain that went all the way beyond the clouds. When looking at both east and west, there was a similar view. Some plains and a small forest of pink trees that almost looked like cherry blossoms. If one tried to look at the entire picture, it seemed like an island of flowers in the middle of a blue ocean because of how colorful the city was.
Her crew joined in just a few minutes, and even though they had to set everything up from scratch, they were ready to start in less than half an hour. Becca wasn't the only reporter there. Almost all news outlets had sent in a team, even those used by other races. Unlike what most people expected, humans weren't the only ones with technology. The kingdoms of elves, dwarves, beastmen, and all the others who weren't isolated from the rest of the MAZE also advanced along with humanity. Each had its own TV networks and customs, but they all shared the same infrastructures, such as the internet and the supply routes. However, since this was the first city built in conjunction with all different races, it was a big deal for everyone.
The ceremony would start with a speech from Romeo. Then there would be a small parade and end with a surprise prepared by the guild chairman. He refused to let Becca know what that was, but he told her to watch the parade. The entire city was split into ten sections, with large roads coming from the outer walls all leading to the central square. Each street would have a different group of people marching through, and they would all join in the center of the city.
Becca looked down from the hotel. It was 20 stories tall, but she still could see the crowd protesting downstairs. This particular group felt odd, there were the usual chants for equality and fair treatment for everyone, but there were also those complaining about the effects the generators would have on the room ecosystem and how people wasted money making the hotel. It seemed unnecessarily disorganized and almost random in a way. Becca could feel something bugging her about this, but her team called before she could figure it out.
"Becca, we are live in 10. Do you want to go to the bathroom before we start?"
"I went before coming up. Where is my mark?" Becca replied as she stepped away from the edge.
"Right here. How are you feeling?"
"I'm good. This shouldn't be a big deal, but we'll be staying here for a few weeks to get a sense of the city. I want to make sure that there aren't any issues that are being hidden from the public," Becca replied.
"Does that mean we can stay in this hotel for that time?" the cameraman asked with a smile.
"Just for the next few days. Then we will get a less… absurdly expensive place," Becca chuckled.
"Well, at least we can enjoy this for a couple of days."
Becca nodded and looked towards the main stage. It was right on the edge of the empty central square. Romeo would give his speech about the city there, and from here, she would get a great aerial shot of everything.