14 Episode 1: Reset (3)

Exiting out of the temple of Viera, the young man was greeted by the warmth of the evening sun. From the time of the guild's meeting till now, Shinto had been out and about in the mountains for about five hours in-game.

"Hah... It's already nearing night, huh?" Shinto scratched his head whilst walking through the streets at a snail's pace. "The bank will close at this rate if I don't get there in time..."

Compared to real life, the sense of time for players in-game flowed differently. In Spiritual Warriors, the time is three times more than that of the real world. A day outside of the game would represent three days. However, even with such a disparity, one wouldn't feel any difference at all. As such, a day in-game for a player would feel like an actual day rather than eight hours.

"..."

Continuing down the streets of Parm, Shinto's eyes averted over towards the street lamps that were beginning to light up under the evening light that was similar to that of lanterns glowing in the night sky. It gave off a soothing and calm feeling when one looked at it.

Then, his attention turned towards the crowd of various people on the streets. Some were leisurely taking a stroll like the way Shinto was to the untrained eye, some rushing for dinner while others were busily chatting. No matter the player or NPC, they were all going about with their daily lives.

"It's been a while since I've been able to calmly walk down the streets like this with so many people, huh?" Despite not exactly liking crowds, Shinto still felt a tint of nostalgia from the atmosphere. After all, as he was originally first in the rankings, he had to conceal himself in public to not draw unwanted attention. But for now, he didn't need to care at all. "It's nice that I don't need to worry too much. Well... Except for the fact that I'm putting in way too much energy to even walk properly..."

He sighed, finally reaching towards the central plaza, where it was the busiest part of town. There, he spotted many players and NPCs conversing or drinking the evening away in the nearby restaurants or taverns. Meanwhile, others were busily selling items or looking for party members.

"Looking for a level ten and above player to join a hunting party!" A swordsman who was standing by the fountain shouted out. "We'll be hunting nearby Shivuliz's Den!"

"This rare sword is for sale!!" A merchant advertised. "Come and buy it if you're interested! It's a rare-rarity sword with lots of options! It's only 1200 gold!"

"Is there any party for hunting that's available?" A mage asked around the area. "I'm a level 6 mage looking for one!"

"...hmm, the bank should be around here," walking through the crowd, Shinto ignored the usual bustle of the plaza whilst surveying around the area. At that moment, his eyes locked onto a large building by the northeastern section of the plaza. "...ah! There it is!"

Stopping at his footsteps, Shinto was greeted by the sight of a grey stoned building in front of him. His eyes were filled with joy as he could finally store away all the items that added unnecessary weight onto him which made him unable to even walk normally.

"It looks like I got here just in time," Shinto uttered out with a sigh of relief. "Phew... Let's get this done and over with." Without any hesitation, he entered the bank with heavy steps.

...

Within the building, a young woman by the name of [ Mia ] happily hummed out a tune to herself as she stood behind the receptionist desk. "Mhm~ Mhm~ Just a few more minutes before work's done for the day!" she cheered as her eyes locked onto the clock that was hanging by the wall. "After that, I can drink the night away with Amy and—"

Continuing on with her delighted expression, the chime of a bell rang through the room, indicating that someone had entered. "Ugh... Another one? Just before the bank closes for the day?" she silently cursed at the sound. "A-Ahem... Welcome, adventurer! I'm Mia, how may I help—" turning her head over to the entrance, her words abruptly stopped as she noted the young man in shabby clothing standing there. "Jeez... A beggar? Why do they keep coming here?"

Not noticing the woman's disgruntled expression, the young man—Shinto, walked up towards the receptionist as he spoke in a calm manner. "Hey, so I would like to make a deposit of my items."

Whilst Shinto was busy taking out the gold coins required to open up his storage space, the young woman scoffed at him. "Deposit? What do you mean by 'deposit'? Do you even have anything on you to store away? Heck, do you even have any money?"

"H-Huh?" Hearing the woman's demeaning tone, Shinto's hand stopped midway against his inventory window as he turned towards Mia with a confused look. "...what?"

"Ugh. I'll repeat. I said, do you even have the money to pay for a deposit?" she furrowed her brows. "A beggar like you, wanting a deposit? Hah! Don't kid me. You're planning on stealing items from other people's storage space, aren't you?"

"...??" Shinto's brow raised in confusion. He didn't understand the reason for the woman's tone of voice or her hostility towards him. "A beggar...?" he muttered to himself as the realization soon hit him.

The current getup that Shinto was wearing was unlike his previous self. As of right now, he wore the typical ragged clothing that all new players would wear before obtaining new equipment. Consequently, he looked to be like your run of the mill newbie.

However, it was evident that he was not one. This was especially apparent when one saw that Shinto did not receive the friendly and kind gestures the NPCs would give towards a new adventurer.

"Tch... All because I'm wearing this shabby getup..." Shinto clicked his tongue in slight frustration. However, he took a deep breath as he calmed himself down. "Hah... It can't be helped. I really do look like some beggar right now..."

Within the game, NPCs weren't just some AI constructs with fixed routines and pre-coded lines. Instead, each and every NPC that resided within Spiritual Warriors had their own voice, appearance, unique traits and a place in life. They were practically indistinguishable from humans of the real world.

As such, with their own quirks and traits, it was a fact that each NPC would treat an individual player differently. Depending on how one looked, their reputation, how they would act towards them, and their overall affinity and relation towards them—each player would receive a different sort of treatment.

"Hey!" While he was deep in thought, Shinto was quickly taken aback as he heard Mia's loud voice. "Are you here to waste my time? Do you want me to call the knights?"

"Wait, wait!" With the threat that the woman before him was giving, Shinto hurriedly waved his hand as he immediately scoured through his inventory. "I have stuff I need to deposit, as I said. If you're worried I'm so-called 'broke', then don't be. I have the money to pay for the fees."

"Really? Then show it!" Alongside a humph, she sneered at his words.

"Hah..." Scratching his head, Shinto took out a few gold coins and dropped them down onto the counter. "Here. This should be sufficient enough, right? Now, can we please proceed with opening up my storage space?"

"A-Ah...?" As the sound of the gold coins collided against the metallic counter, Mia dumbfoundedly blinked. "I-I see... I-I apologize for being so judgemental. You have to understand that I was on high alert as recently, there has been an increase in the activity of thieves in the area and—"

"—the storage space, please." Shinto interrupted Mia with a frown, not wanting to buy the excuse the receptionist was giving.

"R-Right! Of course!" Mia flusteredly uttered out as she scurried out of the counter area. In the next moment, the woman welcomed Shinto into the storage room, where his belongings could be stored universally in a magic space that could only be opened in banks or in a personal home residence with the right equipment. "H-Here you go..."

"..."

Not batting an eye to the girl, Shinto heeded no time as he opened his inventory and began cross-checking all the necessary items within his storage and the ones which he currently held.

"...not only my gear, but the materials and other miscellaneous stuff are mostly useless to me now," he thought to himself whilst scanning through each row and column. "Hah... At least their monetary value is still intact. So I'll consider selling them away when I'm in need of money."

He nodded his head as he placed everything that he owned into the storage space except for a few potions in which he may need. Other than that, there was another set of items that he did not put away.

"Hmm... Since I have the Eyes of Altric now, I guess I need to check these out," with his eyes locked onto the piece of paper within his inventory, he began scrutinizing its details once again. "...how do I activate it? Uh... Eyes of Altric, activate."

With a slight mutter, Shinto was quickly greeted by his notification window.

[ You have activated the passive: (Eyes of Altric)! ]

[ The item's description has been updated! ]

...

[ Torn Page of [???] #4 ]

Rarity: Unknown

A piece of a page numbered [#4]. It seemed to be lost in history as only pieces of what little words of the Altric's language remained.

—"God forbids the fortune. Thou shan't cross the line between light and darkness. Only when duality is complete, shall your duties be fulfilled."

Weight: 5

"...ah! Finally! I can read the strange language!" His eyes shone in excitement as he could finally decipher and read the unknown language that was on the items. "Right. So let's see here—" Just as he was to start reading the page, a few notifications appeared before him.

[ A passage that had been lost in time has been found. ]

[ Oh thee chosen one, search far and wide for the lost arts and you shall be granted the tomb of knowledge. ]

[ You have found and successfully read 1/10 of the Lost Pages! ]

"—Oh...?" Shinto tilted his head to the messages he had received. However, his curiosity ended there as a loud voice tickled his ears—interrupting his thoughts.

"Hey! We're closing! Please hurry up!" It came from Mia.

"...sigh. Right. I can't just stand here." Shinto shook his head helplessly as he placed the torn page back into his inventory. "Well, whatever. I'll get to this later. Since it's about to be nightfall soon, I'll need to hurry out and buy new gear for myself."