New Horizons

An hour passed before Rage entered the tavern alongside Varon; he spotted Sensei deep in conversation with the Innkeeper while the others were chatting at one of the side tables, a drink in front of each of them.

He made his way to the table, with a heavy thud, he sank into the wooden chair, a sigh of exhaustion escaping his lips, he snatched the tankard in front of Jimmy, chugging down every last bit of ale inside then slamming it back on the table.

"Politics can go to hell" he grumbled, his weariness palpable.

"Ah, Your Majesty, such language!" Jimmy replied teasingly.

"Give me a break" Rage retorted, his frustration evident as he buried his face in his arms, seeking a moment of respite before mustering the energy to continue.

"Sit down, Varon, you've been standing all day" Rage gestured to Varon.

"I wouldn't dare si-" Varon tried to say before Rage interrupted him.

"Just sit, Varon. Please" Rage insisted, burying his tired face in his arms again.

"So, what's the deal with the elder? We noticed a quest pop up about developing the territory or something" Jimmy inquired, reclining in his chair.

"Summing up, we've got some sway over the town now. The elder has taken a liking to me, and my name's Valerian Highthorn now, second son of Emperor Octavius from the western continent" came Rage's muffled voice from his buried face.

"Gah dam, that explains him calling you Your Majesty repeatedly, and he fell for that bluff?" Jimmy replied, surprised in a good way.

"He had no reason not to, especially after Seraphina's incident" he replied, "Our gear looks luxurious for some reason; we somehow kept our clan emblem, and he was fascinated when I pulled things out of my inventory. He called it 'space magic' or something" he added with a weary chuckle.

"Now that you mention it, our gear did seem more luxurious than usual. And I didn't spot a clan emblem on Seraphina's or any of her crew's chests" Jimmy replied, piecing together the day's events.

"Add to that everyone here seems to carry their items on them; I haven't seen a single one use their inventory; maybe they don't know yet?" Rage questioned, looking around him at the players in the tavern.

"Hey there" Rage called out to a random player nearby.

"M-me?" The player responded in disbelief, eyes wide with excitement.

The player approached their table, brimming with excitement. "I'm a huge fan! I've seen all your replays on the forum and—" he began before Rage cut in.

"Say 'inventory'" Rage instructed.

"Huh? O-okay," the player responded hesitantly. "Inventory!" he exclaimed, pausing momentarily and checking his status window. "Was something supposed to happen?" he asked, puzzled, turning to Rage for guidance.

"Take a seat" Rage gestured to the player, who promptly grabbed a nearby chair and positioned it next to Rage, perhaps a bit too close for comfort.

"What's your name, mate?" Rage inquired.

"Nyx. I'm Nyx" he replied with a smile.

"Alright Nyx, tell me everything that happened with you since the gate opened" Rage requested, leaning back and crossing his arms, a keen interest in his eyes.

"Like everyone else, I entered the gate after you were taken to the police station. The first few minutes were calm; as soon as we passed the gate, a status window popped up, offering two options: caster or melee. Depending on our choice, a sword or a staff materialized on our bodies, and I ended up with basic level 1 gear like everyone else." Nyx replied before his expression changed, "The initial fight was a mess; we were swarmed by wolves right after most of us chose a class. Reporters further complicated things; despite players trying to protect them, they refused to return through the gate, resulting in many casualties. We banded into groups for safety and pushed back the wolves. Most groups stayed together, though a few disbanded post-fight. We found the main road and followed it until we came across this village; the guards required proof when we stated we were adventurers by collecting five wolf pelts. After presenting these, they granted us entry and gave us some gold. Most folks here offer quests just by talking to them" he continued.

"Connecting the dots isn't rocket science" Jimmy remarked, musing to himself. "Our gear likely ties in with our prestige. I'm still puzzled about our retained classes and clan emblem, but I suspect it's because we're the only ones who reached the 5th stage. That orb specifically said that the classes were related to our advancements rewards; it wouldn't make sense if they gave them only to take them back immediately."

"Makes sense" Sensei said, approaching their table.

"Ah, welcome back Romeo" Phoenix teased Sensei as he approached their table. "So, when's the wedding?"

"Next week, you comedian" Sensei retorted with a chuckle.

"Alright, listen up you fuckers" Rage said, shifting in his chair to get comfortable. "Let me fill you in on some key points from my conversation with the Elder." he continued.

"Apparently, Fangmaw has been causing them a load of trouble lately, restricting access to some important mine" Rage explained, glancing at the Innkeeper. "Need a refill, love" he called out before returning to the group. "I couldn't get any info on the mine itself since all the miners died during the wolves' breakout, but we're tasked with clearing it out so it can go back into service." He paused briefly as Evelyn arrived with the ale. "Thanks" he said with a smile as she poured it into his tankard before returning to the bar. "Focus, Casanova" Rage said, snapping his fingers before Sensei's eyes, pulling him back to attention.

"As I was saying" Rage continued, "A bounty was set on Fangmaw that is separate from the mine clearing commission, two birds one stone, the total would be 5000G, 4000 for the bounty and 1000 for the mine; I decided to take all after we clear the mine since we are taking the commission obviously".

"That's all well and good, but why is he still here?" Jimmy asked, pointing at Nyx, who was still seated beside Rage, maintaining eye contact with him.

The entire group swiveled their heads toward Nyx, who offered an awkward wave and a sheepish smile.

Rage paused for a moment, then turned to face him. "Nyx, do you have a group?"

"I actually do" Nyx replied eagerly. "We teamed up during the initial fight and decided to stick together."

"Good" said Rage. "Gather your party. I have a job for you." Nyx sprang up, nearly tripping in his excitement before rushing out of the tavern with determination, "Right away!" he called out not looking back once.

"You got a job for them?" Jimmy questioned, confused.

"You'll see, one important thing needs to be done while we're in the cave."

After a short while, Nyx returned, accompanied by three more individuals. One among them appeared to be a caster, a wooden staff with a small sapphire attached to the top secured to her back; a rogue wielding dual daggers, and a tanker, unmistakable due to the massive shield slung across his back.

The caster stepped up, her eyes bright with eagerness. "Hey there, I'm Lysa! It's seriously awesome meeting you all."

The rogue nodded, a glint of admiration in her eyes. "Kaela here. I've been following you guys on the forums since I started playing the game!"

The tanker, towering over the others. "Name's Braxton. A pleasure to meet you all in person; I was there during the incident today; Seraphina had it coming, honestly."

"Nice meeting you all" Rage replied with a smile. "So what level are you guys at now?" he questioned.

"We're all level 11 for now, we already chose our basic classes" Nyx answered, "I'm a swordsman, Lysa is a witch, Kaela is a rogue and Brexton is a paladin".

Swordsmaster's class system was a fascinating deviation from the norm. Instead of fixed character classes chosen during character creation, players started with basic, versatile tiers like swordsman, paladin, or wizard. As they progress, their class gradually evolves into a more specialized and unique one. This approach offered a dynamic and evolving journey, allowing players to shape their characters differently. 

"That's good, alright" Rage said, pulling a paper from his pocket, "This is a list of some herbs that we need; they can be found in the nearby forest" he continued, handing Nyx the paper, "You'll accompany Jimmy and collect as much as humanly possible, there are five types of herbs here with a small description written for each one".

"Huh! Why me!" Jimmy protested with an annoyed expression.

"Because you're the only smart person in this group, and you'll probably learn more stuff about the herbs in the forest along the way" Rage replied, "The potion recipes changed; you said it yourself; I managed to obtain this list from the townhall's alchemist, they can be used to make a health potion although it needs to be processed and mixed with specific proportions and you're probably the only one who can mimic the alchemist if you saw him do it a couple of times."

Jimmy sighed, "Alright, then, but it's nighttime already. Are you sure about this?" he questioned Rage.

"Rivershade might come here tomorrow with more people to avenge Seraphina; we should be prepared; we can use the time to level up while everyone else is sleeping so we don't have to share hunting ground; it'll make it easier to find more wolves since we only found a few today because everyone was already killing loads of them."

"While you do that, we'll be clearing the mine; if anything dangerous happens, I'll order Varon to summon the sentinels under his command" Rage continued, taking a sip of his ale.

Rage made his way to the bar, tossing a gold coin to the Innkeeper, "Keep the change" he said before heading toward the exit. He had received 50 gold from the elder as part of the bounty to cover expenses until they cleared the mines. It was more than enough for food and lodging since they didn't need to purchase gear or anything expensive. Additionally, 50 gold was still a large amount of money, given that the average wage in this town, according to the elder, was two silver a day.

The group split in front of the tavern, with Jimmy accompanying Nyx and his companions while the rest made their way to the mine.

"Meet back before sunrise" Rage said to Jimmy, "Even if you didn't collect the herbs" he continued tugging Jimmy's arms in an expression of worry.

"Don't worry, see you back in a couple of hours" Jimmy replied, "Let's roll out" he continued, looking at Nyx before each group went on their way.