A new ally or an old acquaintance?

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Mica

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Finding a free hotel was more difficult than I thought. I just wandered around the city for an hour asking at every hotel. They didn't have a single room available anywhere.

From killing the boss I got four silver coins and seven copper coins, two teeth (weapon crafting material), 2 Stats Points, 1 Skill Points, 3 Health Points, 50 MP, 35 HP, 125 EP and one poison (which I had no idea on what or when I was going to use). I invested my Stats Points in Intelligence and Stamina. My 3 Health Points increased my HP from 320 to 430 with 35 HP I got. My MP increased to 225 MP and my EP was at 740. I invested one Skill Point in the Shadow illusion double attack skill. Then I checked my character window and it looked something like this.

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PLAYER

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Name: Micajah

Age: 26

Gender: Male

Race: Shapeshifter

Class: Assassin

Titles: -

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HP: 45/430

MP: 10/225

EP: 740/740

Level: 2

Affiliation to element: -

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Stats:

Strength: 5 Speed: 8 Intelligence: 5

Agility: 6 Stamina: 8 Luck: 8

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Skills:

- Animal shapeshift (Panther) (1/1) -) R-Rank

- Shadow steps (1/3) -) C-Rank

- Shadow illusion double attack (2/3) -) C-Rank

- Cat vision (1/3) -) E-Rank

- Support (1/3) -) E-Rank

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Skill Points: 0

Stats Points: 0

Health Point: 0

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Anyway, I was satisfied. And I also collected some money. If I remember well from the instructions, one copper coin is worth 10Eur after exchange, one silver one is worth 100Eur and one gold one is worth 500Eur. Which means that now I have 470 Eur. After four world wars, only one currency was left and that was the Euro.

And in order to earn even more, I have to go to dungeons more times. The harder the dungeon, the better the reward. But first I have to be stronger so I don't get killed. Stepping into a dungeon higher than D-Rank is now suicidal for me.

I also planned to come up with as many skills as possible so that I would have something to choose from when attacking. I already had some ideas, but I still didn't know if the system would approve them. Especially the first one that came to my mind.

Anyway, my priority right now is to find a hotel with an empty room. I turned left and entered another street full of people. I wanted to cry. Maybe I should repeat what I did the night before, sleeping on the grass wasn't that bad. However, for that I would have to find a way out of this maze called a 'small' town. Instead, I sighed and decided to keep looking.

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Nate

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Okay, maybe going to the city and finding a free room during the Nangong festival was not the smartest thing I could have done, but I seriously thought that at least one free room in some hotel would be found.

Apparently not because I've been looking for a free room for over an hour. I wondered if Mica also had a problem finding a room or if luck smiled on him. But he's probably in the same situation as me. I was already thinking about going back to the city gate and sleeping outside when I saw familiar dark purple hair.

"Mica!" I shouted and started pushing through the crowd to my teammate.

"Nate?" Mica turned when he apparently heard my scream and I was next to him in no time.

"Any luck with finding a room?" I asked him to which I only got a shake of the head. A smile played on my lips and I hooked our hands together and started pulling us out of town.

"We're going out of town" I announced to Mica, who was confused and was dragged behind me. "Or do you want to see the festival?" I asked him, slowing down.

"No, festivals are boring" Mica told me and I started pulling us away again.

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It didn't take long and we found ourselves in front of the entrance gate of the city we were in a while ago.

"What now?" Mica asked me when we got far from the noise of people in the city.

"Haha... I haven't figured that out but I'm sure we'll find something to entertain ourselves" I told him, to which he just sighed but then smiled.

"'kay" Mica said and nodded. I smiled back at him and we both laid down comfortably on the grass.

And that's how the whole night passed. We talked about our experiences, problems, opinions... Everything we could think of. Only one thing was taboo in our conversation. And those were our real names. Mica told me flatly that he refuses to tell his real name, which I respected. I also did not rush to tell people my real name.

Shin Hae-In.

That was my real name. A name that I hated. The name that my parents gave me. The name that was cursed. The name that I dropped the moment when I left Team Alta. The team that was everything to me. The team that became my family. A team that could have been champions if I hadn't left back then.

Jang Hyun-Soo.

Lee Ye-Jun.

Ming Woo-Chul.

Park Hye-Jin.

Song Rae-Yoo.

My teammates whom I left back then because of my own problems. I will never forgive myself. And after I left, I couldn't even meet them again and apologize to them. I was too much of a coward to show myself to them again.

But I knew that Jang Hyun-Soo went to another shelter, Lee Ye-Jun went to another team to play along with Park Hye-Jin, Ming Woo-Chul had a tragic accident and remained in a coma, and Song Rae-Yoo... he's the only one I knew nothing about after Team Alta fell apart. It was as if he had evaporated.

Song Rae-Yoo, the boy who was closest to me from our team and with whom I always got along. We were best friends, no, we were more than best friends. We understood each other without words, it often seemed as if we read each other's minds, and when our characters played together, we were invincible.

I knew that Rae-Yoo was trying to lead Team Alta without me, but the team fell apart anyway. I wonder if he blamed himself for our team breakup. Or if he blamed me. Someone he trusted but he betrayed him and didn't even have the courage to apologize. What a coward I am! And I even started playing again! With a new name, a new style for fear that someone will recognize me. A real coward am I!

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Mica

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We both fell silent and Nate seemed lost in his memories. His brows were furrowed, his lips pulled into a thin line, and anger and shame appeared in his eyes.

I was good at reading people. It was something I learned after my parents died. Something that helped me when I played for the Alta team. Ah, the good memories I have of those times.

Jang Hyun-Soo.

Lee Ye-Jun.

Ming Woo-Chul.

Park Hye-Jin.

Shin Hae-In.

My teammates whom I valued above all else. But the team Alta broke up and we stopped communicating. Because it opened wounds that we were not ready to face.

The first to start a crack in our team was Shin Hae-In. My best friend who was closer to me than any other person in the world. I didn't know what happened when he left the team. It was unannounced and I received no explanation. But I didn't blame him. I knew that Hae-In was not someone who would just leave without an explanation. Therefore, I decided to wait for his explanation, but I never received one. That was the first crack in our team. Our first sign that our team are going to face downfall.

Lee Ye-Jun was the next person to widen this crack. The girl was very talented and received a lot of offers, but she always refused and stayed in the Alta team. But after Shin Hae-In left, something changed. Ye-Jun accepted the offer that was made to her and left Team Alta to join Team AFTG.

Park Hye-Jin followed her after a few weeks.

Jang Hyun-Soo moved to another shelter a few months after Hye-Jin left because of his father's work, and Ming Woo-Chul suffered a serious injury in an accident that left him in a coma. And Team Alta has officially disbanded.

However, I hoped that despite this we would at least remain friends. But that didn't happen. But even so, somewhere in my heart I kept a small hope that one of them would call me. That they will greet me and we won't pretend to be strangers. And if not the rest of our team, then at least Hae-In. But my hope never came true.

And then my parents died. That was my breaking point. And to make matters worse, my older sister died a few years after it. At both funerals, I hoped that at least one of my former teammates would tell me that they were sorry. But neither of them called.

I shook my head and pushed the good and bad memories out of my head. There is no point in dwelling on the past. I have to focus on the future.

"Hey Nate, it's going to be daylight in a little while. Can you show me how to use the R-Rank skill?" I called my new friend who was startled when he heard my voice but then smiled and nodded.

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Nate

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"Hey Nate, it's going to be daylight in a little while. Can you show me how to use the R-Rank skill?" I heard a man's voice that pulled me out of my memories of the past. I jolted and quickly looked after the voice. I was greeted by light purple eyes and a smile on my new friend's face.

I didn't do anything for a while, but then I smiled and nodded. True, I don't have time to be controlled by the past. I have to focus on the future and not repeat my mistakes.