The adventure begins!

I contemplated Eva's request for a moment.

(I suppose I should trust Eva more; after all, she hasn't told Luke about what's happening here... as far as I know.)

I'm not stupid; I won't give my complete trust to someone I met just a few days ago. However, it's undeniable that I need reliable allies. And Eva possesses many impressive qualities.

She's intelligent.

She's beautiful.

Even though her jokes aren't great, she tries to improve, which is something.

(Well, even if everything goes south, I can start over with the credits I still have...)

With that in mind, I made a decision that would change everything.

*Click

I raised my left arm and touched the tech core.

[Property permissions for 'Mansion' granted to player "Eva"]

[Property permissions for 'Private Building' granted to player "Eva"]

[Limited property permissions for 'Private Base' granted to player "Eva"]

(I'm not using these properties much anyway, so maybe they'll be useful for Eva.)

"I'll give you my vote of confidence. Anyway, this was going to happen someday; after all, what's mine is yours and what's yours is mine, right?" I joked, recalling her joke about marriage.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure your trust is well-placed. I'll also do my part to make everything perfect," she nodded, playing along with a serious—very serious—face.

"Our empire begins now..." I said, watching the sun rise, illuminating the mansion's backyard.

--

After bidding farewell to Eva, Ethan decided to make some preliminary arrangements before Luke requested them.

(My hair is still long...) Though he mostly ignored it, keeping long hair wasn't his style and it bothered him at times.

With that in mind, Ethan decided to take a stroll through Genesis. Who knows? Maybe there's a barbershop around.

*Noise, *noise

Leaving the mansion and heading to the main road of Genesis, Ethan marveled at how different the city looked.

(They're expanding quickly... as expected of humanity.)

From street vendors to makeshift shops, all of this could be seen just by casually walking. A strange sight if you had seen this place from day one.

*Glances

"Look, that guy has an amazing hair color..."

"Check out his eyes, he looks like a bad guy."

"He must be rich; I heard they haven't figured out how to create aesthetic muta-genes yet."

As usual, Ethan's appearance drew attention.

(Uncomfortable...) As someone with a simple appearance, Ethan was not at all used to the many stares directed at him.

He ignored them with difficulty and continued his stroll through the city, where a building caught his eye.

It was a restaurant. Something normal if you see it in real life, but here, where technology is restricted, this was quite rare.

The restaurant was large and open, with wooden chairs and tables everywhere, giving it a traditional or rustic touch. The number of people was considerable and, if you paid attention, you could see they had metal cutlery and good quality ceramics at first glance.

As for the food...

(I don't know, but that smells like chicken), the fragrant aroma was somewhat familiar, at least to Ethan's captivated nose.

There was just one small detail that kept some people from entering and enjoying the cuisine: the price, quite inflated, but understandable if you know the difficulty of obtaining the food.

*Shake head

Shaking his head, Ethan continued on his way in search of a barber.

*Steps, *steps

It didn't take long to find a place.

It was a small building, barely one floor, where a medium-sized sign advertised its services.

Without fear, Ethan entered.

"Hello, nice to meet you. What kind of cut would you like today?" Immediately, a young man greeted him.

This man wore the standard barber attire: an apron, face mask, gloves, etc. Further inside, you could see some familiar tools.

(This guy must be a barber in real life too, right? He seems very prepared), was Ethan's first thought upon seeing that nothing was missing.

"Give me a low cut, you know," saying this, Ethan gave some details for his cut, nothing special.

"Got it, follow me," excited to have what seemed like his first customer, the barber got to work.

*Put on barber cape

*Snip, *snip

Thus, the barber began his work while giving Ethan some compliments.

"This hair is impressive, buddy, what do you use to keep it this healthy?"

(... I don't remember buying any expensive shampoo at the store, I guess it's that muta-gene, right? After all, I'm theoretically the perfect human from Earth.)

"I bought something that looked good at the store, nothing special, really."

"Hmm, I see. And... is this hair color an effect of that product?"

He said this while examining the luminescent parts of Ethan's hair.

"No, those you get from the gacha."

"Incredible."

After that, the barber continued his work until he finished.

*Shake, *shake

*Remove cape

"How much is it?" satisfied with the job, Ethan asked the price.

"30 credits," the man humbly replied.

[Player 'Itz not a Barber' has requested a payment of 30 credits. Do you want to pay?]

(Apart from that name, this guy has talent), he thought seriously upon seeing how this guy's cut increased his level of impressiveness.

[You have paid 50 credits. Remaining balance: 2,950 credits / 12,937,000 premium credits]

Ethan wasn't short on normal credits, after all, just yesterday he had a massacre of 30 goblins, which gave him some good pocket money for occasions like this.

"Take 50 credits, you have talent, buy yourself something nice."

"Thank you so much! Come back soon!" grateful, the barber showed a big smile and accompanied Ethan to the exit.

--

Ethan's POV

After getting my hair cut, I went back to the mansion for a moment to buy the necessary items for today's adventure.

(Don't look at the prices, Ethan... don't look at the prices), ignoring the prices, this is what I bought:

A furry coat, quite good for the cold.

A wool sweater.

Thick pants for the cold.

A pair of boots.

A pair of wool gloves.

All in dark tones.

[Remaining balance:...]

(I don't want to see that or my humble side will bleed), I thought with tears in my heart and maybe in my pocket.

[You have a new message!]

[Luke: "I heard you were around, all set, partner?"

Silent Shadow (You): "Yes... but how did you hear about me?"

Luke: "There aren't many with that hair color and those eyes around here, you know? People tend to say things and those things get heard by some birds... you understand."

Silent Shadow: "... alright... where do we meet?"

Luke: "Go to the tower, I'm already there. Remember to bring your clothes."

Silent Shadow: "Got it."]

(It seems Luke already has people.)

It's not surprising if you think about it, after all, this guy is famous, but...

"Uncomfortable," I said to myself as I put on the clothes, annoyed by the feeling of being watched.

--

I reached the tower after a long and uncomfortable section of stares through the city.

Like me, Luke was wearing a coat and winter clothes that made him stand out compared to the others.

"Hey!" he said upon seeing me from a distance.

It's not surprising that he identified me quickly, since I stood out, maybe even more than him.

(There's no one else... I guess they went ahead, right?)

I approached him at a normal pace.

"I see you bought some good stuff, huh. Believe me, it's really cold out there," Luke exclaimed upon seeing me and quickly analyzing my clothes.

He even made a cold gesture by hugging himself.

"Yeah, you say that... now then, ready for another adventure?" I said, excited for what we were going to do today.

(According to what he said earlier, it's very likely a big Team Death match is coming.)

"Of course, this is the point," saying this, he indicated which deployment point to take.

[Snow Biome - Danger Level: Extreme.

*Note: Danger levels are classified according to nearby native creatures.]

"Alright."

[You have entered a group

Members:

Name: Luke - Species: Human - Race: Earthling - Overall Rating: F

Name: Silent Shadow - Species: Human - Race: Earthling - Overall Rating: F+]

"Ready," we both said at the same time.

*Fushhhh!

And with a milky white light, we embarked on the adventure.

--

*Fushhhh!

*Brrrrrrr

What greeted us as the white light faded was a light cold breeze.

"We've arrived," Luke exclaimed next to me.

We found ourselves in a small base, similar to the one Luke set up in the jungle, so it only took a few steps to get out.

(Incredible...)

I was in a place where the snow covered the ground like a pristine white blanket.

Around me, the trees stood tall, their branches heavy with ice, and the mountains loomed in the distance, majestic and mysterious.

(The developers never cease to amaze me...)

"Oh? You've arrived early," what interrupted my thoughts was the familiar voice of a woman.

It was Rebecca, wearing a coat for the cold and a scarf.

She was coming from a nearby shelter, with a few people here and there, who upon noticing our presence came to greet us.

*Steps, steps

"Welcome."

(It seems everyone, except Eva, is here), I thought, referring to the guild.

Rebecca, Thomas, Frederick, and a few more...

"H-Hello," among them stood out a young woman with a shy voice.

(She's beautiful.)

White hair with blue eyes, an innocent expression, but with elegant features...

And her body, which, although clad in comfortable winter clothing, did not hide her seductive figure.

If you were looking for a word to praise her, you could only find a few: Ice Goddess or Snow Goddess.

"Hello everyone, especially you, beauty," Luke stepped forward and greeted everyone, especially that Ice Goddess.

(Hey!) Seeing how Luke stepped forward shamelessly, I tried to introduce myself to that woman as well.

But when I saw her eyes, those eyes that conveyed innocence....

-Kill the men, kill the men, kill the men.

A voice completely different from that shy woman echoed in my mind.

(Oh my god... a feminist!)