Chapter 25: A world inside the tower.

Rigel put his left hand above his eyes because the sun was too bright for him. When his eyes got used to the brightness, a strong wind hit his face as he looked at the vast green land below him with a giant lake and forest, and mountains in the distance. He was standing on top of a cliff, and it was surreal to see such beautiful scenery.

He noticed there was a town in the distance beyond the forest, secluded by nature. He couldn't wait to go there and see what kind of people lived there.

He turned around and saw the tower behind him, but it was smaller compared to the one on Earth. He tried to get back inside, but the door was closed and he couldn't open it. When he was observing his surroundings, he heard howls in the distance.

A pack of blue wolves was running in the forest behind the tower, hunting a boar that was twice as big as the wolves. The wolves themselves were too big compared to the ones from Earth. They were almost as tall as Rigel, and they were vicious with their long fangs like sabertooth.

"So this is the world inside the tower..." Rigel looked at the forest next to him as he looked for a way down the cliff.

When he found his way down, he heard growling from behind him. He glanced at the pack of blue wolves from earlier, and it looked like they were starving because of the saliva that dripped from their mouths. It appeared the prey that they hunted managed to escape and now he was their target.

"Don't worry! We will take care of them for you!" A man said as he ran up the hill with 3 other people. "We have been looking for them for 5 days. So we would really appreciate it if you let us have it," he added and ran past Rigel.

The man with his friends faced the pack of wolves bravely and started to swing their swords, spear, and shields at them. Rigel observed their movements and how sloppy their movements were, and they weren't that strong. But even so, those wolves were stronger than the orcs, making it impossible for normal people to kill them.

Their moves synchronized with each other, making it hard for the wolves to attack them. The battle ended in just a few minutes and those people began to skin the wolves and took their fangs, claws, and eyeballs. Rigel just stood there watching and wondering why those people needed the wolves.

"I believe it's our first time meeting with each other," the man held the fangs of the wolves and put them in the bag. "Where do you come from? I'm talking about your original world," he looked at Rigel with curiosity.

"Earth," Rigel answered.

"Ah, so you're from the new batch of Players," the man nodded with understanding. "We're from Erssey, that's the world we came from," he smiled at Rigel and pointed at his friends.

It was as Vania said back then to Rigel about people from different universes coming into the tower. He wondered how many worlds there were out there, and who was the first player that entered the tower and the world within.

"Are you here to hunt these wolves too? The rewards are really nice, right?" The man asked with a smirk on his face.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rigel furrowed and looked at the man with a confused look.

"The quest from the system? The daily quests?" The man looked at Rigel weirdly. It wasn't just him, the others also made the same look on their faces.

"I'm not a Player," Rigel answered and told them the truth since there was no reason for him to lie in the first place.

"I see, so you're a Non-Player," The man and his friends suddenly stared at Rigel with disgust and hatred for an unknown reason. "I suggest you to fuck off while we are being nice right now," he showed his dead stare at Rigel.

Rigel had no idea what was going on and why the sudden hatred for his existence as an Adapter or a Non-Player. They ignored his existence and focused on scavenging for the wolves. He decided to leave them be and went down the hill.

Those 4 Players glanced at each other and then looked at Rigel walking down the hill. It wasn't just hatred, there was anger and malicious intent in their eyes.

It took 2 hours of walking for Rigel to reach the town, and it was bigger than he thought when he saw it from the distance above the cliff. He looked at so many people who came and went from the gate in groups. He wondered which one of them was Player and which one of them that wasn't. He had zero knowledge about the world inside the tower, and if there were people that were originally from the world inside the tower itself.

There were so many questions that he had in mind, especially the prejudice about Adapters or Non-Players. There should be some history behind that prejudice, and seeing how they treated Adapters like that, that meant they had a deep grudge against them.

"(Since Players hate Adapters, it would be wise to hide the fact I'm not one)" Rigel thought as he entered town.

The town was lively, there were stalls on the sides of the road. People were selling a lot of stuff from ingredients, food, and even cheap equipment. He looked around and he felt like he lived in a medieval world which was surreal. There was one thing that Rigel noticed, and it was the fact that he could understand the language and writings that he heard and saw. He thought it might be because of his connection with Lysara'elmaris that made him understand different languages.

"First thing first, I need to understand what kind of currency they used inside the tower," Rigel walked on the sidewalk and watched people using coins made of copper and silver. "Now where should I earn some money," he looked around, wondering if there was some kind of job that allowed him to earn money.

Rigel wandered around town and he stumbled on a big building in the heart of town. The building had a writing on it, it was called Player Association, and he went inside to check what the place was about. 

It was the place he was looking for because he saw Players trade the materials they got from hunting at the counter with money. He saw players accepting quests from the other counter which meant they got money after completing the quest. He decided to go there and grab a quest since he needed money.

"What can I help you with?" A woman sitting behind the counter, smiling at Rigel.

"I would like to take a quest," Rigel answered as he looked to his left and saw a player receiving a quest.

"Are you a new Player?" The woman asked.

"Yes," Rigel nodded.

"Alright, can you share your status screen so we can record it in our database?" The woman looked at Rigel. "If you don't know how you can open your status screen, there's an eye icon on the top right, and it will allow other Players to see your status screen," she guided.

Rigel stood there and realized how unexpected it was for her to ask his status screen. He didn't know there was a feature like that and it was required to take a quest there.

"Is there a problem?" The woman asked and she started to feel suspicious about Rigel.

"Nothing. I just remember there's something that I need to do," Rigel shook his head. When he wanted to leave the building, he realized all the Players were looking at him with suspicion.

When Rigel thought of leaving, the door was closed by Players, preventing him from leaving. He realized he had just entered a tiger's den, and he had nowhere to go other than to force his way out.

"Can you show us your status screen?" The woman asked and the warm and gentle voice of her turned cold.

"What if I don't want to?" Rigel asked back.

"Is it that you don't want to, or is it that you don't have it in the first place?" The woman raised her eyebrows. The moment she said that all the Players grabbed their weapons and their eyes filled with malicious intent. "It would be wise if you just dropped your sword if you want to live," she warned as she glanced to her right, signaling the Players to subdue Rigel.

3 Players walked toward Rigel with their swords in their hands, and when they were in range, Rigel unsheathed his sword and swung his sword at them. Although those Players had their swords covering their heads, Eclairswille was too sharp to be blocked by cheap swords. The swords got cut in half and their heads fell to the ground and rolled over before their bodies collapsed.

"It would be wise if you all dropped your weapons if you want to live," Rigel coldly stared at them and showed no fear.