22 Chapter 21 "Entering Ruina"
As Ioki walked through the forest, the chants and howl slowly stopped reaching his ear.
Either the Fortune Squad has started their journey, or Ioki already went further than their voice could reach.
Knowing full well the Fortune Squad, the latter is not possible. They must have started their own journey and went into opposite direction of Ioki's.
A pair of Kobold appeared, but with a hit, they were sent flying. This is how strong Ioki had become.
He even tried to let the mobs he encountered on his way hit him on purpose, but they only tickled his body and did a little bit of damage even though their weapon landed on his uncovered skin.
Ioki opened his window stats and saw his new stats from equipping the Warden's set.
v Ioki
v Lvl: 21 | Job: None
v Str: 34
v Dex: 63
v Con: 81
v Int: 28
v Wis: 28
v Cha: 43
v Luc: 154
v Chr: 33
"Woah! Did I really have that much of Con last time I checked? The Warden's Set is truly a blessing... You know what they say. Even Hell itself could be a place to search for fortune," Ioki said while smirking.
"It feels like something is missing... But what is it, I wonder? Hmm..." Ioki pondered.
"Well, if I forgot about it, it must be not important!" Ioki said while continuing his walk.
Meanwhile, the viewers that were watching Ioki's LIVE are going insane scrolling through the LIVE section looking for Ioki's...
They were chatting in the global chat. They whispered to each other and asked for information.
As the global chat went wild, Ioki found himself outside the forest. He saw a couple of newbies that just appeared and complained about the tutorial's difficulty.
Watching them makes him reminisce about his first day on this game...
With a proud look on his face, he walked to the gate of Ruina.
"Halt!" The guards shouted with their spears crossed, blocking the entrance to Ruina.
Ioki was surprised by this because when he was here yesterday, there were no such things happening...
"Show your identification!" The guards shouted at Ioki.
"What identification?" Ioki replied.
"The Identification of Guided Souls!" The guards shouted once again.
Ioki opened his inventory and searched for it, but it didn't seem like there was any item resembling the one they were looking for.
"I don't have any identification..." Ioki replied with a forced smile.
"Is this your first time in Ruina?" The guards asked while staring at each other.
"Yes, I went to the forest on my first day here. I'm sorry, I don't know much, " Ioki replied, scratching his head.
The guards lowered their spears and stared at Ioki from the top to the bottom, scanning him as if looking for something.
"There is an ongoing investigation inside the town; we can't let just anyone go inside. It's a shame, but if y---"
Before they continued talking, Ioki opened his inventory and took 10 golds.
A small purse appeared on Ioki's hand.
Ioki then offered it to the guards.
"What is this!?" The guards shouted with a stern expression.
"Here, just take this... It's not like someone weak like me is enough to cause a ruckus inside a town guarded by strong people like you guys," Ioki complimented them as he once again put the purse in front of their faces.
"ARE YOU SAY---"
Ioki then took another 5 golds and offered it to the guards.
"Here, this is all I have... I don't have much because I don't know what to do in the forest..." Ioki said with a sad expression.
The guards took the small purses, "Ahem, after you are inside, please do not cause trouble and make an identification straight away at the church."
After they took the purse and returned to their position with a smirk on their face, another soldier made a drinking sign with his hand as he stared at the one with Ioki's purse.
"Money talks even in this game, huh?" Ioki muttered.
Ioki entered Ruina without paying attention to them.
A big city crowded with people left and right. Market stalls could be seen on the side of the road, bustling with NPCs and Players trying to make a living in this world.
It's not rare for Ruina to have another species other than Humans walking around the plaza. Ioki could see tall Beastmen reaching the same height as The Warden.
Birdmen with feathers covering their body flying above his head while carrying kinds of stuff.
Elves, Dwarves, and even something resembling a Dragon...
Later, to be known, they are of the royal Draconic race.
A group of Knights and Guards could be seen patrolling the bustling street of Ruina as well. They asked the Shopkeepers, Merchants on the street, and even the other Players like how police would ask for information.
Maybe something truly happened at Ruina while Ioki was out in the woods.
As Ioki took a step forward and started his exploration, other Players could be seen stopped in their steps and stared at Ioki.
Slowly, Ioki could hear the reason why they observed him.
"Doesn't that armor look similar to what The Warden equipped in Tutorial?"
"Is he a high-level player?"
"Isn't that the rumored Ioki?"
Ioki turned and looked at the one that just said his name. He opened his mask and threw a peace sign at them.
"IT'S IOKI!"
"WHERE?"
Realizing he just made a mistake, Ioki put his mask on again and ran to the crowds.
After exploring for a while, Ioki finally found the fountain Absusbsj asked to be their rendezvous point.
He saw a party consisting of a Big bald man with ironclad armor, a man with a robe and sword on his waist, and a woman with a bow on her back.
He looked around the fountain and found no one else, so he assumed that one of them was Absusbsj.
As he slowly approached them, their attention shifted to this little boy with a strange armor set.
"Umm... Excuse me... Is Absusbsj one of you?" Ioki asked with a low voice.
The bald man stepped forward, "Depends on who's asking."
Ioki stared at the tall man standing before him; he looked up and down and couldn't get his attention from how the elegant ironclad silver armor lined with gold strips on its engraving suited this man perfectly.
"Hey, when someone older than you is talking, then you need to pay attention to them, you know?" The man in the robe said with a smile.
"Ah, I'm sorry... My name is Ioki, I be---" Before Ioki could finish his sentence, the bald man crouched and took Ioki's hand.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! IOKI, IN FLESH!" The bald man shakes Ioki's hand up and down.
After hearing the commotion near the fountain, the people near them automatically focused on the boy swaying up and down as the big man was shaking his hand.
"Ioki?"
"Did that bald guy just say Ioki?"
The woman then put her hand on his shoulder, "Seriously, Grandpa... You ought to start acting your age..."
"Hey, I'm still young!" The bald man replied as he stopped shaking Ioki's hand.
"Umm, I think we need to change place... There are lots of eyes staring at us..." The man with the robe said.
"Hah... Let's just continue this at Skye's Diner," The woman continued with a sigh, "Follow us, Ioki."
