The breezy wind that blew from the sea, the faint smell of salt water, the serene view of the palm trees, and the captivating architecture of colonial buildings; all of these were in harmony with each other and provided a relaxing atmosphere.

It was as if Alan had been teleported across time and place to one of the port cities in Europe during the 15th century. The time period of the so-called Age of Exploration.

As he took a little stroll, he could clearly see dozens of NPCs on standby around the area. These friendly men and women were prepared to provide any type of services needed by the variety of players from around the world.

Food, drinks, messages, or even companionships.

The Alien created the entire port town as a haven for all players. Just like a sailor that had just returned from a tiring journey.

This was the purpose of the transit town. It existed to help refresh the minds of the exhausted and burdened players by what they had just experienced, preparing them for the next round of Apocalypse Game.

However, 24 hours were all the time the players had.

Turning his head to a certain direction, Alan could see a group of players going straight into a pub. One of the popular places to go in the transit town. However, the same couldn't be said for Alan.

Instead of spending time drinking in the pub, he couldn't wait to go on a tour to all the shops in the town and spend his survival points. However, now was not the time as he knew what would happen next.

As expected, a moment later he saw crowds of people moving in a single direction towards the main street. Not long after that, one male player with an army haircut and uniform approached him.

"Sir, please gather at the central square. There will be a briefing by the US military," said the male in a straightforward manner.

Thousands of players moved toward the center of the port town like a swarm of ants. Upon arriving, Alan could see dozens of people donning army uniforms standing in an orderly line facing the crowd of thousands.

When most of the people present were still wearing standard plain clothes or even in the red beginner suits, looking at these dozens of army outfits, these people were wearing did give some level of credibility to the crowd.

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Alan was making his way into the crowd of thousands of players when his eyes caught sight of a nearly 2 meters tall Indian man, who was truly set apart from the rest. Without further ado, he quickly approached the other party.

"Nims, you're getting used to the game already?"

Seeing the monk nodding his head, Alan asked the next thing he wanted to know.

"Tell me what rank you get?"

"Not so good, Alan.."

"What? How come?"

"I only got C+," said the monk innocently.

"...."

Alan was unable to speak for a second after hearing the monk's remark. The fact that the monk just achieved a better rank than him was a little disturbing to him. Nevertheless, if history still hadn't changed, their rank must be a new record for the Apocalypse Game's round one.

But then, upon further reflection, Nims' results should be expected.

If Alan thought back to all the events that had occurred in the last 8 hours, he would realize that the monk was not only more active in combat. He was also involved in killing the Alpha wolf.

Not only that, but Nims was also protecting the VIP from the wolves' attack while he was busy fighting with the veteran Crimson Gunner.

With the C+ rank, Nims was awarded a mind-boggling 3000 survival points as well as 3000 XP. In addition to that, he also received a 1x C rank reward and a 1x D rank reward.

"Is this considered good then, Alan?" Again, the monk asked in an innocent manner.

"... I don't want to talk about this now, Nims," Alan responded.

"Well, what should I do with all these rewards then?"

Again, Nims' question could only make Alan heave a sigh one more time.

Alan was about to give the monk some explanation but held down the words coming out of his throat as it appeared that the gathering was about to start.

Everyone's attention was brought to one side where a tough-looking African-American man in an army uniform walked up the stairs of a building that was placed in front of the square.

Alan, upon seeing the man, instantly put on a smile on his face.

The man was one of his good friends, Sergeant Dylan O' Connor.

The last time Alan saw the man, he was cut in half and dissected by a bug monster. Even though the other party still didn't know him at this time, he couldn't help but be happy because he could see him alive and kicking again.

Standing on the platform, the African-American man maintained his firm stance, his gaze unwaveringly directed at all of the players in front of him. Immediately after that, he gave a thunderous shout, "Attention!!.. Fall in!!"

As soon as the man's words were heard, hundreds of the masses started to form in front of the stairs, while some others were still confused. The sergeant looked around and once again shouted.

"That's right! Fall in!! We don't have all day, ladies!! Fall in!! Now! Now!!"

Soon enough, half of the people gathered stood in lines just like an army mass while the others were just watching at the back of the lines, observing and waiting for what the army was planning to do.

Following that, a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties slowly and deliberately made his way onto the stage. Many amongst the crowd recognized him as he was introduced briefly at the training center.

Captain Sam Carter of the US Marines with 20 years of battlefield experience and veteran of the game.

Everyone focused their attention on the man while nervously waiting for what he would say.

"Hours ago, we just experienced hell; we all did."

The captain paused for a second before continuing, "We still have a few more hell in front of us, and for us to be able to survive till the end, we have to work together."

The captain stared at the thousands in front of him and said,

"Most of you are not marines, but from today and for the rest of the game, I will be your commander until I die or I find someone better."

The words the man spoke were brief and curt, but everything he said was on point, straight to the heart of the matter.

He was a real American hero willing to be assigned by the government to lead a bunch of civilians with questionable abilities until the end of the Apocalypse Game only with his battalion of 500 men.

The captain then proceeded to continue his speech by saying,

"I am here right now to brief the plan for the second round, and I am looking for 200 civilians to join our ranks."