The First Move

Heading deeper into the building, Valyr began to admire the simplistic design of the place, which gave off the feeling that the building reflected the type of people living in this space.

People who made no room for wasted movement.

While walking around the corridors to find a person he could ask a few questions to, Valyr allowed his body to absentmindedly wander as he brought up all of the plans he had come up with so far to the surface of his mind.

'For now, I can only set broad goals. However, as time passes and my capabilities grow larger, I'll be able to set more specific ones,' he muttered inwardly. 'In any case, there are only two goals I have in mind at the moment: to form an organization capable of withstanding the final battle, and choose the class that'll bring me to the very end.'

As to how he had decided that these two goals were the most important compared to everything else, Valyr thought back to the period before the final battle, where those part of the faction he was in moved without a certain goal in command. Although a basic sense of unity could be found, there was still disarray prevalent throughout every move, which would have been easily resolved if there was a strong unifying voice among the ranks.

With that in mind, he thought that an organization forming the core of that voice would probably the best option, with each member of that organization acting as a pillar.

Thinking about this, he scratched the back of his head as he wryly smiled. 'Well, I should probably put this at the back burner for now, considering that I don't even have the strength nor influence to form such an organization yet. Though, that leads me to the other goal.'

'A class that'll take me to the end.' Unlike the first goal, this one was self-explanatory. After all, not having the required strength to take part in the final battle would mean that everything Valyr had done to reach that point would be for naught. With this line of thought, an urge welled up inside him to choose one of the six main classes of the game, thinking that having a class would definitely give him the firepower he needed for the end.

However, after pondering over it for a bit more, this urge died down as a sobering thought surfaced in his mind.

'I have no experience with the six main classes.'

Warrior, Defender, Pugilist, Assassin, Arcanist and Acolyte. These were the six main classes available for all players to choose in Greater Beyond as long as they reached Level 10. Of course, these classes were also available for the NPCs at the same level. To some, it could be said that these were the worst classes to choose at the start as they could be obtained without even having to put in any effort.

Naturally, when there were classes that could be obtained without even needing to do anything, there were also classes that could be obtained by meeting certain prerequisites. In fact, the class Valyr took up in his previous life was one of the latter. As to what it was, it was considered one of the three production classes with the greatest renown in Greater Beyond alongside Alchemist and Tailor.

The Blacksmith.

As he recalled the class he chose in his previous life, he felt that choosing it in this life wouldn't be a bad idea as well, considering that he had information that would allow this class of his to shine further. 'Hmm… although I could choose the six classes, I don't really have a lot of experience in them. On the other hand, if I choose to take up the Blacksmith class again, I could hastily speed through the ranks and reach an even greater height than before.'

'Hmm…' Although he was rubbing his chin in ponderation, once he had laid out the facts in that manner, the choice for Valyr became incredibly simple.

'Guess I'm becoming a Blacksmith again,' he thought to himself as he let out a light chuckle. 'However, to reach that point, I'll have to meet the prerequisites first.'

'And that's why I'm going to join the village guards.' Thankfully, after wandering around the building's corridors for a while, he had eventually spotted the back of a man wearing a dark blue uniform, prompting Valyr to walk up to him. 'It'll take me forever to become a Blacksmith if I don't establish a footing of some sort.'

'In any case, for someone like me, who has no strength nor reputation whatsoever, joining the village guards is probably the easiest way to do that.' Ending his thoughts there, he tapped on the shoulder of the man he had walked up to, prompting the latter to look back at him. "Eh?"

Noticing the person's confusion, Valyr gave the man a small respectful bow before saying his piece. "Hello there, sir. I was wondering if it was possible to join the village guards?"

Hearing Valyr's words, the confusion on the man's face instantly disappeared as he quickly connected the dots as to why Valyr was behind him. Becoming silent for a bit, the man lightly nodded before replying, "Although I'd be lying if I said we need more guards, I don't have the authority to do that. If you walk in that direction, you'll find the leader's office. You should ask him instead."

With that, the man pointed in a certain direction, prompting Valyr to start heading in that direction as he thanked the man. "Thanks for the help. Can I get your name?"

"The name's Leon." Leon lightly smiled in response. "If the leader does accept you as a village guard, let me know."

"I definitely will." Saying those words, he thanked Leon once more before bidding farewell, slowly making his way to the end of the direction Leon had pointed in.

A few minutes later, Valyr stopped in front of a closed door, feeling a small hint of nervousness as he looked at the words written on the door's window.

"Damian Waters. Astarto Guard Leader." Muttering the words written on the door, Valyr took in a deep breath to calm down his nerves. Then, with a light sigh, he knocked three times on the door in front of him.

"Come in." In response to his knocks, a deep, masculine voice resounded from the other side of the door, giving Valyr the feeling that such words should not be ignored. With that, Valyr took yet another deep breath before opening the door, eventually facing eye-to-eye with the man on the other side of the door.

At first, a hint of incredulity could be seen on Valyr's face as he did not expect such a voice to come from the man he was looking at. 

In his mind, a voice like that would come from a middle-aged man who had weathered through multiple trials and tribulations. However, the man in front of him showed anything but, appearing to be a man in his late twenties.

Though, with a few creases on the man's face showing that his life so far had been anything but simple, Valyr still felt a slightly older vibe coming from the man. Then again, it did not help that the man had a head of neatly-combed silver hair, complementing the man's dark blue irises that seemed to tell the vicissitudes of time.

"Is there anything I could help you with?" the man asked as Valyr closed the door. "If you just came in to waltz around, please leave the building. Civilians like you shouldn't be here, after all."

"Actually, I was planning to apply as a village guard," Valyr said in response, the personality he thought he had discarded near the end of his life appearing once more as his voice at the end became somewhat meek. For some reason, he had a feeling that the man sitting down in front of him had taken his words as a joke. However, what happened instead could only be summed up as… odd.

"Is that so? Well, I'm glad you asked."

"…huh?"