Chapter 33: Boring and peaceful.

Rigel entered Vern and it was smaller than the previous town, and it also had fewer players. There was a Player Association building there, and he didn't want to go near that building. He had just hoped that he didn't have to encounter people from the Association again.

"An inn and a pub in the same building, what a luxury," Rigel looked at the inn in the distance as he put the horse in the stable.

Rigel went into the inn and there was nobody inside except the man daydreaming behind the counter. It was perfect because fewer Players meant less chance of getting noticed.

"3 silvers for resting, 5 silvers for a day. 2 extra silvers per day if you decide to stay more than a night," The old man said as he yawned.

Rigel put 7 silver coins on the counter, and the old man put the key on the counter. He went upstairs to go to the bedroom because he traveled 3 days from the Fiery Caldera to Vern. He lay down on the bed and looked out the window, listening to people talking outside.

The sound of an owl right outside his window woke him up, and he didn't realize he had fallen asleep and it was already nighttime. He decided to have dinner downstairs and hoped the owner was still awake. When he went downstairs, he saw a woman sweeping the floor, she looked old enough to be the old man's wife.

"Ah, you're awake. Do you want to order something?" The old woman asked.

"Yes, please. I'll have what you made and a glass of rum," Rigel answered as he walked to the counter.

"Yes, right away," the old woman looked happy for some reason. Maybe it was because there were barely any customers.

The old woman brought a piece of bread, a beef stew, a salad, and a glass of rum. She put them in front of Rigel and then continued cleaning the floor. It was peaceful when Rigel enjoyed his food and listened to the old woman hum.

"How long have you been here?" Rigel struck up a conversation with the old woman.

"All my life. I was born here in the tower," the old woman answered. "How about you, young man?" she asked.

"I came here just recently. Also, you were born here? Are you a Player?" Rigel asked and never thought about someone born inside the tower.

"Yes, my parents, and their parents. We are all born here in the tower, and yes, I am a Player because the System acknowledged me. After all, my parents and their parents were Players as well," The woman answered. "So if you asked me where I was originally from other than here inside the tower, I don't know," she added as she chuckled.

Rigel remembered there were empires beyond the 30th floor, and that would mean the emperors, kings, and nobles were all Players. That was an interesting concept, but somehow it sounded a bit tragic that those people had no idea about their original world or at least the world where their ancestors came from.

"I see, that's really interesting," Rigel nodded his head as he enjoyed the food. "Also, I have been wondering why this town doesn't have that many Players around. Is it always like this here in Vern?" He asked.

"It has always been like this, but recently there were Players that came from Earth, and I believe you came from the same world as them," the old woman wiped the sweat off her forehead. "But it's always been like this for most of the time. There's nothing that this place can offer. The monsters are low-level, and there's no beautiful place to attract people. This is just a boring and yet peaceful side of the 1st floor," she explained.

"A boring and peaceful place doesn't sound that bad," Rigel said with a smile.

"You're not wrong on that one, young man. For an old lady like me, there's nothing I want more than this kind of life," The old woman chuckled and seemed happy that someone would understand her. "But it's still a shame that the Player Association building here is also closing soon due to the lack of Players here," she sighed.

"Anyway, since you have been living here for long, have you seen a Non-Player here?" Rigel asked.

The old woman looked at Rigel and her cheerful expression suddenly turned pale when she heard about Non-Player.

"I don't really want to talk about that stuff. I would rather not know anything about it than have to get involved in those kinds of things," The old woman responded and the air became awkward because of that.

Rigel didn't have anything to say and kept enjoying his food until someone barged into the inn.

"Old lady!" A man said in a loud voice and he was holding a bottle of alcohol in his hand. "Long time no see, huh? I see that you have a customer, so that means you have some coins to give me, don't you?" he giggled.

Rigel didn't bother and kept eating, and then he saw the old woman walk to the counter hurriedly. He watched as the old woman grabbed all the coins she had on the counter and gave them to the man. He could sense more presence than the man behind him, there were 3 more people that came into the inn.

"Only this much? Are you being serious? It has been a month since I came here, no? What the fuck is this?!" The man slapped the old woman and made her fall to the ground really hard. "Fucking useless piece of old bag," he added and decided to check if the old woman hid some coins on the counter.

Rigel enjoyed his rum as he watched the bald man with a scar across his face make a mess of the counter. The man was disappointed because the coins the old woman gave him were all the money that she had. The man then glanced at Rigel and then smirked as he walked around the counter.

"Hey, got some coins? That looks fancy, that earring," The man looked at the gold earring on Rigel's left ear.

"I do, what do you want?" Rigel asked and drank his rum.

"Give it to me, and that gold earring that you wear," The man said as his hand tried to reach Rigel's left ear. "I can get some gold coins from that thing," he giggled.

Rigel grabbed the man's face with his whole hand had turned into Lindworm's hand. He crushed the man's face and it exploded like a watermelon and then threw the body away from the counter. The other Players who saw what happened were petrified, and before they could move, Rigel released a lightning bolt at them and zapped them to paralyze them.

"You got what you wanted and you still asked for more," Rigel unsheathed his sword and then swung it at them, decapitating their heads off.

The old woman was so petrified that she couldn't move her body or make any noise. She was terrified by what she saw, especially how Rigel killed them all heartlessly, and didn't hesitate to make a mess of them. She then startled when a bag of coins dropped in front of her, and when she looked up it was Rigel who gave it to her.

"It's sad that I can't enjoy my stay here even though I really like it here," Rigel said as he sheathed his sword and grabbed the bodies with his left hand, and kicked the heads outside the inn. "If people asked what happened, you can say that a Non-Player killed them," he said as he dragged the bodies outside the inn.

The old woman was shocked that Rigel was a Non-Player, and she didn't know if she should be grateful or scared. She knew if she had to get involved in this, her peaceful life would be over.

Rigel came back in and went upstairs to grab his stuff, and it didn't take a while until he came back. He still saw the old woman on the ground, and then the old man came in after he heard the commotion. He was petrified when he saw blood and pieces of meat and a brain on the counter and on the floor.

"Thanks for the food, it was delicious," Rigel said and then left.