14 - The Otherworld

Lucian went through the portal, and his vision became blurry for a few seconds before returning to normal. He quickly analyzed his surroundings, and it was mesmerizing.

Everywhere he looked, the kind of people who came from all over the world were coming out of giant purple portals.

'Hmm, so those are the people from other areas… I wonder what the 1st Area looked like. They are the ones who got the hardest Tutorial…'

Lucian already knew there was no way someone would be stronger than Alex, but there was still a chance he might meet someone interesting. He slowly looked up and saw angels who looked quite similar to Ariel. Most were males, but they still had quite similar morphology, from how they looked around to the wings on their backs. There were a lot of similarities.

After glancing at the angels, Lucian looked down a little and was finally able to observe the surroundings of what the Otherworld looked like. As he did so, a small information window appeared before him.

[Outer Area of the 1st Floor]

While the message was short, Lucian managed to obtain bits of information, for example, the fact that the Otherworld possessed floors.

'Is this some sort of tower? But there isn't any tower-like building from what I can see…'

Lucian got rid of the message that was obstructing his view and looked around the first floor of the Otherworld. At first glance, it looked exactly like Earth. The sky was blue, the grass was green, and a couple of houses were not too far away from them… It was a weird thing to say, but it looked peaceful, a lot more peaceful than the life he had experienced on Earth.

However, while everything looked peaceful, Lucian noticed that apart from all the humans who had survived the Tutorial, quite a few people were waiting for them. And just like Ariel had said when she presented herself at the beginning of the Tutorial, the people waiting for them, eyeing them, were all different.

Some had characteristics belonging to Vampires, like pointy teeth. Others had long, pointy ears… It seemed their arrival was quite important for some reason. Lucian wasn't stupid. He had already sort of understood what was happening.

'They want to recruit some of us. There's a reason they send someone to look over us, after all… They want to scout the most talented, those with the most potential. Well, I guess Alex and Ava are people Ariel will recommend to who knows who.'

Lucian looked at all those people and couldn't help but wonder about what Alex would do. 

"Alex." Lucian slowly tapped on his shoulder, wanting his attention. "Are you going to join one of those organizations?"

"Uh… Not interested."

'Not surprising, considering his personality. He's probably one of those cultivators who like to roam freely around the world.'

However, while Alex had refused to join one, he hadn't refused to create one.

"Then, are you going to create one?"

Alex still had the same emotionless look. "I don't know, maybe. I just want to explore this world… Also, how do you even know that they are going to recruit us? None of them said anything yet."

'Well, I'm just smart.'

"Just a feeling from how they are looking at us."

Everyone looked at them as if they were for the taking. Lucian wasn't sure what would happen next, but it certainly would be quite interesting.

*Swoosh!*

He felt someone above him move at high speed, causing the wind to blow some of his hair in his face, and Lucian already knew who had caused this without even looking.

She moved a little higher and in the front so that everyone would be able to see her.

"All right! As you have probably noticed, your arrival here is quite important since so many people have gathered to meet all of you… the new arrivals, or the newbies, as most people call them."

Ariel heard some murmurs in the crowd, but she didn't act on it because she knew it was simply impossible to calm such a big crowd like this. She also couldn't blow someone's head out of nowhere just for the fun of it. They were in the Otherworld now. She didn't have access to those rights anymore.

"All of them have gathered to see who is worth their attention. As most of you probably know, getting stronger and acquiring points in the Tutorial was very important. There is a very simple reason for that… only those who had over 1500 Points will have the opportunity to join a family."

"The opportunity to join a family! In other words, an opportunity to join an organization will help you grow and get stronger faster than if you proceed to do so alone."

"What are the benefits?"

Many people in the crowd couldn't help but shout that question since, as of right now. They would just prefer staying here, on the first floor, not bothered to fight anyone.

"The benefits of joining a family? Well, there are many… to start off, you will be able to train with their members, making you stronger. You will also be able to learn a lot of secrets about the Otherworld. You will also be able to learn all kinds of skills related to your chosen family."

"But why would we need to learn how to fight? Can't we just stay here and live a peaceful life?"

Ariel had a smile on her face when she heard that question.

"You can stay here if you want. This is the only floor of the Otherworld that doesn't have any danger. However… those who stay here, well… don't live in the best conditions and are treated like absolute shit by everyone who is climbing the Otherworld."

'Climbing? So, is this whole world really some sort of a tower? But why are they climbing it?'

"As you probably noticed from the message you saw earlier, this is only the first floor of the Otherworld. There are many other floors, or rather… worlds to experience. To reach a higher floor, you will have to go through a "trial", and only then will you have access to the second floor. Well, I think I said enough…you'll learn more about it when you join one of the Families present, now make your choice. Live a terrible life by staying here, or get stronger and climb the Otherworld."

Lucian had a little smirk on his face as if saying, "I knew it."

Everything was almost as he had imagined. He had analyzed everything to its perfection.

"Uh… Lucian… are you going to stay here?"

'Well, it depends on what that guy decides, but from what he told me, there's no way he's going to stay here…

"Maybe, who knows."

Ava nodded her head. "Then, I'll do whatever you decide to do!"

Lucian nodded as he focused his attention once again on Ariel, who hadn't finished talking just yet.

"Oh, and also, I'll add one more thing about the second floor. It's only when you arrive on it that the real adventure in the Otherworld will start...you could even call the first floor a continuation of the Tutorial..."

'A continuation of the Tutorial?'

Lucian frowned but continued to listen to what she would say next.

"Now, let's talk about how you will show your talent to the representatives of the families. You'll see, it's very simple. Basically, everyone who got more than 1500 Points in the Tutorial will have the opportunity to showcase their talent to the families' representatives by fighting against one opponent from those who survived and got more than 1500 Points. And for those who didn't get more than 1500 Points… well, good luck."

Ariel waved her hand, and almost everyone disappeared. There were only about 500 people left. If Lucian had been able to count, he would have found out there were precisely 512 people left.

'Only this amount of people were able to get more than 1500 points? Really?'

Lucian was shocked that only a few people had managed to do that, but he didn't say anything. He kept looking at Ariel.

"Now, for the rest of you, let's go to the Coliseum."

Ariel suddenly snapped her fingers again, and everyone's vision became blurry. There wasn't a message like last time, but Lucian knew this feeling well. He was getting teleported.

When he opened his eyes again, he seemed to be in the waiting room of an old Coliseum. The small message that appeared in front of him confirmed it.

[First Floor Coliseum's Waiting Room]