The Starting Town

Arriving back at the starting player town, Connor decided not to head straight for the Slums District where Omar is located.

His head is continually pounding within his skull, indicating that his mental power is beginning to wane and he needs to log off soon.

And now, he opted to explore the town to see if any noteworthy quests were available before his eventual log-off.

As mentioned before, Connor did not start in the Bankai Star Empire and only knew of the major quests and headlines in the Empire.

The town's name is Kenpachi Town and is almost ancient Japan-looking. With pointed rooftops and red paint here and there.

Many buildings are styled in pagoda-like fashions. Some buildings are even bright-colored with their unique business logos.

Along certain spots on the main road, Connor could see Sakura trees. Their pink leaves billowing with the slight wind, sometimes falling and floating in the distance.

Red and yellow lanterns decorated with Japanese characters hang from the rafters on the roof. The native NPCs were of more Asian descent.

Their clothing is a bit ancient mixed with a tinge of medieval. The blend made it very fantastical. Even the town soldiers were dressed in a sort of samurai-esquire armor.

Some carried spears. Others held katanas and other types of ancient Japanese weapons.

Even the players milling about here and there are Asian; most likely being of Japanese descent.

It wasn't hard to guess that the lightning god had transported Connor across the entire server to the Region of the Macaque.

In Shattered Realms, there are continents and regions where the NPCs and architecture more or less mirror the different ethnic groups and cultures found across the real world, Earth. However, with slight differences.

In this sense, players could feel a little more at ease in these regions as they were more relatable with the people NPCs.

As for where the Bankai Star Empire is located, you guessed it… Japan. Albeit a very big Japan.

Even their language, if a player pays closer attention, is ancient Japanese.

However, that didn't matter as the players were all equipped with the Human-Speech skill.

This skill allowed players to understand all of the native human NPC languages. And vice-versa for the NPCs.

Though, it was mainly given to Players so that they could interact and talk to other Players from around the world without any weird first interactions of speaking different tongues.

The language barrier that separated the world was immediately broken upon entering the game.

All of the other languages in Shattered Realms such as Dragon Speech or Dwarven Runic had to either be learned through the use of a skill acquired or taught/imparted by a member of such races.

Unfortunately, creatures of Shattered Realms were not privy to any language and had developed their own.

Goblins, Orcs, Trolls, and many other Lesser Races are classified as "creatures" and have to develop their languages due to their natures being very instinct-driven.

'I never paid attention to how much detail they put into this game. All I did was come login and logout once my jobs were done. Never had I known this.

I could learn Japanese right here in the game and not have to go to school. The words they speak would automatically be translated. I just have to memorize the words. Amazing!'

With just these thoughts alone, Connor makes it his goal to learn every language on Earth.

When passing by NPCs, they would avoid getting in Connor's way as they sensed a void-like aura emanating from him.

Given to the fact that they could not read his power level, proved to them he was indeed a powerful warrior.

His passive skill [Shadow Estrangement] shielded Connor from being inspected by anyone Rank 5 and below while also allowing him to be more attuned to darkness and shadows.

With just this skill alone, assassins would fight tooth and nail to acquire it.

Any being capable of seeing auras and mana to read people would only see a shroud of darkness.

The darkness isn't evil or sinister but just voided. Their senses would always shift and never lock onto Connor's person.

Almost as if trying to avoid coming into contact with him.

Not to mention the short sword at his back and metal arm shield, all of which are of high quality, indicated that he was a warrior of high caliber.

NPCs of various stature yell about announcing products their stores are selling.

This attracted many Players to enter shops and spend whatever their system-generated 1SC could buy them.

This made it very easy for Connor to navigate the town without any hiccups.

Connor eventually made his way out of the Market District, located more or less at the town's entrance, and into the Nobles's District.

As you guessed, this is the district where only the nobility reside. To call them nobles is an understatement.

They essentially ran the town while the Town Lord let them do as they pleased as long as they did not break the law.

"Why" you ask?

It's because of the families they belong to.

Three noble families are living in this town and a few powerful empire merchant family branches. All three families belong to the top three most powerful families in the empire.

Though he is the Town Lord, he has no backing within the empire and could be replaced with a snap of a finger.

Therefore, letting the Nobles get away with a few minor crimes such as embezzlement was okay to him.

The noble district could be seen as a stark difference from the rest of the town.

In this area of the town, there was only the serene sound of nature and silence.

The closest residence is at least a mile away from any of the activities going on in the rest of town. There were no people out yelling, trying to get sales in.

There were no stalls set up on the side of the road with people displaying their wares.

No, the noble district was quiet, orderly, and very… rich.

You could practically smell the gold in the air.

The grass was very green… to say the least.

Japanese pine trees dotted the streets at regular intervals. They were mainly planted in front of a noble's home.

Azalea flowers dotted the front lawns of certain homes. The houses themselves looked very homey.

However, to Connor, these small details were cool to see but not important.

What he's here for is the Town Lord himself.

At this moment, hundreds of Players were crowding the Town Hall trying to get a quest or mission from the Town Lord.

To their surprise, he was not there and they could only try to persuade his secretary to bring him out.

In the end, they were all thrown out by the town guards who were at Level 13.

The sad part is that the Town Lord is not at the Town Hall. He's currently in his fortress-like home in the Noble District.

The Town Lord's home has 6m tall stone walls built around the land he owns.

Connor was able to discern his location simply by checking the mana of all the NPCs.

With his senses reaching a terrifying 3km radius, Connor could for sure say he wasn't in the market district as well.

A Town Lord not being present at the Town Hall on launch day could only mean one thing…

Something serious was going on.

This takes us back to Connor approaching the Noble District entrance where he's currently looking at a house furthest in the back.

With the strength the other nobles have, a stone wall is not enough to protect his home.

However, these were not any ordinary stones nor ordinary stone walls.

The stone used in making the stone walls is called Magic Granite.

As the name suggests, the stone walls are made of granite and could be enhanced further by adding mana to them so that not even a special-grade weapon could do much against it.

In addition, they are also highly attuned with mana. That's why they can have magic inscriptions engraved in them.

The stone walls have many defensive inscriptions upon them.

In addition, based on the mana they're giving off, the inscriptions are of at least peak Rank 2.

Not to mention the Rank 2 offensive and defensive formations further in the land as well.

As no one in town is at Rank 2, not even the Town Lord, he could safely stay there without any worries.

At this moment, Connor is being blocked from entering the Noble District by a few Level 22 guards.

"HOLD!!" A swordsman guard shouts with his hand out in a stop-gesture. Connor stops, not wanting to unnecessarily provoke them.

If the commoners and merchants avoided Connor while on his way here, then the guards are even more wary of him.

They've interacted with the Town Lord at times when he would come and leave the District and knew the difference between the two.

Connor's aura itself is double if not triple that of the Town Lord's.

Even though he could easily cross the 2km distance in 1 min and 48 sec, Connor decided to just do the right thing.