LIGHTNOVELONLINE 5. New World, Old Challenges
Chapter 5 – New World, Old Challenges
Aenon found himself in a large clearing when his eyes adjusted to the light. It was a village square of sorts, with guards armed with spears standing around the perimeter. He could see a large mansion off to the side, about 200 meters away. There was a canal and two bridges on the other end of the grounds. One of the bridges had a much larger and cobbled stone road, while the other was a dirt road. He could see what looked like a market on the other side of the cobbled road.
Aenon was standing with a group of about a hundred people. All looking around in dazed confusion. With an internal groan he realized the annoying three were still there, albeit a few paces away from him and facing in a different direction. The people were too busy taking in the sights to give him any attention.
Looking around he found everyone was dressed in the same attire, dirty brown pants, and a white shirt. The cloth was very course and felt like it would fall apart if the wind was too strong. Typical starter gear. There was a raised platform at one end of the square with a retinue of better equipped guards. They flanked a group of humans in luxurious clothing, when compared to their rags at least.
The most prominent person on stage was an elderly man with a neatly trimmed beard and a stern appearance. His hair was lustrous silver, and his skin was a dark ebony. His demeanor commanded respect and his casual stance with his hands clasped behind his back showed he feared nothing from this crowd. The man stepped forward and started talking in a booming voice.
“Welcome everyone, to the village of Jadefall. This humble abode will be your home for the next few weeks to get you acclimated to your new life. You can stay here longer if you decide to grow strong enough to claim this settlement and make it grow, but more of that will be discussed later. For now, I suggest familiarizing yourself with your surroundings before venturing out. I have been briefed on the status of your world pre-integration and it was standard human development by the looks of it,” the old man paused as he gazed over the attentive crowd.
“I recommend likening this new life to the role-playing games your people enjoyed in the past. By that definition, I would be a Non-Player Character, or NPC for short, and this is your beginner village. Most game-like mechanics will hold true, and you are free to try it out yourself. However, there are a few key differences. There are no respawns, and there will be severe repercussions for anyone trying to go the evil route,” the man declared as he gazed at the crowd with a stern gaze.
“Punishment will be commensurate to the crime and the decision taken by the village head, which is me, is final unless superseded by an Arbiter. You steal, you get locked up based on the value of goods stolen. You kill an NPC, and you will be summarily executed. Unlike your games, the NPCs are actual people placed here by the System and their lives do hold value. Your every move is being monitored by the System, so don’t think you can dupe anyone. Any infraction the System deems as evil will place a marker above your head and if a city guard finds you with it, you will be brought before a judge to be sentenced. That is all I needed to say. My administrator will take care of the rest in due time. Farewell.”
Having delivered his speech, which sounded well practiced and rehearsed, the man started walking away from the stage with his guards in tow. A scrawny woman with a stone tablet the size of a book stepped forward onto the stage. But before the lady could get a word out, the muscle head from before, Mike, shouted in a mocking tone. Aenon sighed while thinking internally whether this guy had anything in his skull at all.
“And who put you in charge? Where I’m from, we have a democracy. We choose our leader based on elections. And we don’t bow down to Monarchs.”
The plaza went deathly silent at the outburst and the village head stopped in his tracks. The guards immediately drew their swords and pointed them in the idiot’s direction. The new arrivals scrambled to get away from the loudmouth, including Aenon this time. He was not willing to be associated with this guy at all.
Aenon observed the man on stage as he slowly turned around to face Mike. It was obvious to everyone, but the idiot in the center of the now deserted ground, that the village head was not amused.
“And pray tell, what do you intend to do about it?” the village head asked coldly.
“I will out level you in a few days’ time and replace you,” Mike replied with a sneer. And for some incomprehensible reason he flexed his biceps to the crowd like he was at a bodybuilding competition.
Ugh. That is the ickiest thing I have ever seen in my life, Aenon thought internally as he felt a shiver run down his spine.
The village head stared on a few seconds before smiling viciously, “And how do you intend to do that while you are locked away in the dungeon?”
“Huh?” was all the man could mutter before he was surrounded by guards. One of them kicked the back of his knee while the others grabbed him as he fell.
“Hey, you cannot do this. I did not commit a crime. I just spoke out against tyranny. I have a right to free speech,” he bellowed as he struggled against the vice like grips of the guards.
“Contrary to your beliefs, you have committed a crime. The marker above your head proves it. Also, you do NOT have a right to free speech, and you most certainly will NOT be out leveling even the weakest person of this village since you will be locked up for the next two weeks,” the village administrator spoke up for the first time in a squeaky but authoritative voice.
“We would be doing everyone a favor by nipping a future problem in the bud.” She bowed to the imposing village head as he turned around after a few seconds and continued his casual march as though nothing of note had happened.
“You can’t do this to me. Do you know who I am? My father will…,” the jerk kept shouting as he was dragged away by the guards. The ease with which they handled him was like an adult dealing with a toddler throwing a tantrum.
The crowd gradually moved back to their earlier locations. Aenon glanced at the remaining two from the campfire. The man looked really pleased while the woman looked lost and showed no emotion to the fate of her ex-companion. She was hugging the System assigned box like her life depended on it. He was curious to see what a resurrection token looked like, but not curious enough to deal with her again. He looked around the crowd and saw that about 10 people had similar chests in their hands, and they too were handling those like priceless treasures.
“Now, with that out of the way, let’s get down to business,” the village admin said in no-nonsense, business-like tone. “First things first, I see that some of you have Grade-E boxes in your hands.” The people who had those suddenly tensed up.
“You can rest assured, no one can take it from you. When the System grants a loot box/chest to someone, it cannot be opened by anyone else. If you are not convinced, you can place them in your spatial inventory instead of lugging them around. No one has access to that space except you,” she said in a gentler tone.
“And to be clear, although it is phenomenally rare this early in the tutorial, resurrection tokens are common as you level up. And once assigned to a person, they are non-transferable. So, I’d claim them right now where it is safe. Although the box cannot be stolen, their contents once removed can be. And yes, people will risk being marked to get their hands on those.”
Their behavior made sense since their life depended on it, literally. Aenon watched with amusement as the ones with the chests looked around with indecision before one of them braved himself and opened the chest to claim the token. Before Aenon could get a good view, it disappeared in a shower of light before the box dematerialized. The others followed suit as the grounds lit up with flash after flash.
The redhead was the last to claim her token, warring internally about something for a while. The other guy, Erwin, cautiously approached her as the light faded from around her and placed a hand on her shoulder. He whispered something in her ear that made her break down and cry before hugging him tight.
“Now, moving on,” the admin continued. “You all need to decide what direction you want to take your life in. Broadly, it falls under two categories – combat, and non-combat roles. The System always rewards based on the risk involved. Hence, combat roles are favored by the System, but it also rewards non-combatants. Non-combatants can’t be killed by monsters or other combatants while within city or village limits, which appeals to a huge majority of the population, but combatants age slower and are vastly more powerful.”
There were some murmurs from the crowd when they heard non-combatants cannot be killed. “However, if the village or city you are part of falls to monster hordes, then the protections fall as well. And you can be killed while travelling between cities. So, it’s a delicate and symbiotic relation between the two. Combatants protect the city, and non-combatants produce goods and services,” she pointedly stared at a few people who were whispering earlier.
The excitement from before died down a bit. The protection which they wanted to rely on was not perfect after all. It was essentially placing their lives in the hands of others. Although, looking at the reaction so far, the younger looking Players were going to seek the adventuring life for sure. Once the whispers died down, the administrator carried on her explanation.
“Next up, for logistics, you will all be assigned a house, with families sharing the bigger units, and will be given food rations for the next two days. By day three, you are expected to find your own means and start contributing to the community. The free rations may be extended for a few days if special situations arise and will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. The housing is free for as long as you stay in this village. Don’t expect the same after you leave though. After day three, the food rations will be replaced with System rations. Trust me when I say this, you do NOT want to eat those.”
The woman walked off stage without a second glance at the crowd. The guards on the sidelines started corralling the crowd towards their housing, which was across the bridge with the dirt road. For the first time they got to see the village. It had a pleasant medieval feel to it. Although no technology was present from earth, it did have the basic amenities for a thriving community. The main street was paved with cobbled stones and there were lampposts at regular intervals with some crystals hanging from them.
But what truly stole Aenon’s breath away was the sky. It had multiple planet sized celestial bodies of varying colors and sizes. That’s when it truly hit him that he was no longer on his planet. Looking at him frozen in his tracks, staring above, the crowd around him did the same. One by one everyone was stunned speechless while staring at the alien sky. It was equally beautiful and nerve wrecking.
“Come on people, we haven’t got all day. Gawk at your own time. Move it,” one of the guards shouted, breaking the spell over the crowd. As they approached a quiet part of the village after a brief 20-minute walk, the guards dispersed.
A fresh batch of uniformed minions descended on the crowd, armed with pads instead of swords, taking in details from everyone and guiding them to their assigned housing. A rotund man with a double chin approached him with purpose and quickly asked his name and age. Aenon wondered what his physical stat distribution was, to be so chubby. He didn’t look obese, as he walked with grace, almost like a Sumo wrestler.
Aenon considered changing his name as he was planning a fresh start but then decided not to at the last second. His name was the only thing from his family. He was rather fond of it.
“Aenon Fenrast, age 13 years,” he gave his details honestly. The man paused for a few seconds before taking down some notes.
“13 years is considered an adult by the System and since I see no family around, you will get the smaller unit to yourself. Follow me,” he commanded while walking down the curved road to the very last of the housing units. There was another bridge here and he could clearly see the village’s fortified walls as well as the entry point for the canal.
The house would have been indistinguishable from the others if not for the number 38 emblazoned on its door. The clerk tapped the door with his index finger before walking in through the door. The house was a single bedroom unit with minimal furnishings, a two-person couch in the living room, a cot in the bedroom and some basic pots and pans in the kitchen. The walls were completely bare, and the bathroom had a wooden tub and bowl. There was a hole in the ground covered by a lid, which Aenon eyed suspiciously, dreading lifting it up.
The stern man let him look around a bit and waited for him. Almost as though daring him to say something negative about his new, albeit temporary, accommodation. When he merely nodded, the man gave a small approving smile before looking down at his notes.
“This unit is assigned to you, and no one will be able to enter it except by your permission. The only exception will be the village guard, who may have to do so in the line of duty. Your food will be delivered to your inventory at the start of the day. There is a Recording Crystal on the kitchen counter with a generic map of the village and its surroundings. It will dissipate once you touch it and unlock the map feature on your interface,” the man droned on almost mechanically. With that, he was out the door before Aenon considered what to ask him.
Well, that was fun.
A female voice stated with a cheery tone. Harley popped out as a floating crystal, and her voice sounded more human than before. Although the voice made him freeze for a moment. It reminded him of…
Helloooooo. Earth to Aenon. You there? Although I guess it must be Jadefall to Aenon for now, since this planet is not named yet.
Aenon struggled to come to terms with what was going on but suppressed his emotions. He returned to his usual calm demeanor. “How did you get out and what’s up with your voice?”
Apparently, I can project myself outside your soul space if I want to. No one can see me though. And get this, I can even level up and get one class. And once I level up enough, I can get my own physical body. Isn’t that exciting?
As for my voice, this felt more natural than the robotic drone voice from earlier. Don’t you think?
The shard bobbed up and down as it relayed its findings. Aenon stayed silent, keeping his concerns to himself.
“What will you do when you get a body though? And what happens to your shard that is in my soul space?”
I have absolutely no idea. This is what the System update informed me after I requested having my own body.
“You requested to have your own body?”
Well, yeah. You think I want to share a space with my…
The shard went silent for a bit, accompanied by a lot of random light pulses. It almost looked like it was rebooting.
Huh? What was I saying?
“You were saying that we need to start moving to maintain our lead. Let’s grab the map and head out shall we,” Aenon deflected the topic quickly. He didn’t want to dwell on what this meant.
He found the recording crystal on the kitchen counter and was reaching for it when suddenly Harley zoomed forward and touched it, making it disappear.
“Hey, I needed that crystal for the map Harley,” he said while losing his temper slightly.
I will upload the map to your interface, with an upgrade of course. That is my role after all.
She ignored his heated tone and stayed on topic. Embarrassed at his own behavior, he decided to move on. He pulled up his interface and found two new tabs waiting for him. One was the map, and the other was skills.
At the very bottom he also found an icon of a bag with the number zero beside it. He mentally clicked the bag first and found an empty 5x5 grid appear in front of his face. At the very top were three circles, one bronze, one silver, and one gold. Each had the number zero to their left. He gathered this must where his currency was stored, at least when he did manage to get his hands on some.
Closing the inventory with a thought, he checked his skills. Or at least tried to, the tab was locked out for some reason. He finally moved over to the actual prize he was looking forward to. He pulled up the map.
Right in the middle of his interface he found a black triangle pointing up within the layout of his house. Next to the triangle was a moving green dot. As he turned, the entire map rotated. The green dot must be Harley, he guessed. He tried zooming out and for the first time got an idea what the surroundings were like.
The village boundary was roughly circular with two gates. One to the south, facing an open field that eventually turned into a forest. There was a road leading out from it to the forest’s edge, beyond which the map ended. The other gate was slightly to the north-east and the road coming out from it led straight towards a mountain range. The mountain range bordered the north and east side of the village.
A canal came down from the north-west side of the village, down from the mountains up north. There was a tiny legend at the bottom of the map that also showed a scale. Going by the scale, the village was roughly 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) in diameter. Aenon quickly used the bathroom (the covered lid was exactly what he thought it was, but cleaner) before returning and collapsing on the couch to think what to do next.
Ding
Taking a deep breath, he pulled up his inventory again and found his rations for the day. Five loaves of bread all stacked up in one inventory slot, and a water skin in the second. A simple mental click was all it took to materialize the bread in his hands. He tried smelling it but couldn’t detect any. Taking a bite, he was immediately repulsed by the taste. It felt like eating dust or ash.
“Ugh. How is anyone supposed to eat this thing?” he enquired with a frown. “That too, for two days”. He took a big gulp of water, which thankfully tasted normal. His priority immediately shifted to getting proper food, even if he had to hunt for it.
Oh, that’s because the System doesn’t want people to get dependent on the initial rations. There have been cases in the past where people refused to leave the beginner village and tried living off free rations. They even came up with pitiable excuses to extend the free food period.
“What about the System rations after the two days? Why did the lady advice against eating it?”
If you think the free rations taste bad, you haven’t tasted the System rations. They are not harmful, and one can technically survive on it till the day you die of old age. But it will be a very unpleasant life.
“Well let’s get to it then. What is our first stop?” he asked while standing up and dusting himself. “Also, why can’t I access the Skills tab?”
You need to go to the training hall to unlock that. That is where you will get your starter classes, and mundane skills.
His map showed that the training hall was to the south of the player housing area. He closed his inventory after stuffing it with the bland bread and headed for the door. As he stepped out, he noticed the sorting procedure was still not complete. A few groups were still left.
The soldiers had moved on though, except one fierce looking woman who was watching the crowd with an intense scowl. Aenon decided to head towards her to ask for directions. Despite the map, the streets were a jumbled maze. As he got closer to the female, her attention snapped to him, and her scowl got worse.
“The volunteers and housing are that way. I suggest you turn back before you get lost,” she said in a demanding tone.
“I am already done with the registration and have picked up my map and rations for the day. I wanted to ask where I can find the Training Hall,” Aenon said in a polite tone with a smile. He didn’t know what her problem was, but he didn’t want to make it worse. He waited patiently while she continued her death stare before clicking her tongue and replying.
“So, you are one of those. Overzealous morons who just want to …”
Before she could finish, Aenon gave her a cold stare and started walking away. Being polite was one thing, but he was not going to stand someone belittling him. Especially someone who knew nothing about him. As he took two steps, the soldier realized she was being ignored and her expression turned into fury. But before she could get a word in, Aenon left the clearing.
He looked around and found another guard who was genuinely pleased at being asked for directions. He immediately made a beeline for the Training Hall, which was a good 15-minute walk from where the housing was. The building was impressive, for a village that is. Stone construction with a sloping roof made of mud tiles.
As he stepped in, he found the place had a cozy feel to it. A fireplace to one side with some seating. The other end had a row of windowed cubicles with well-groomed personnel. He approached the nearest one.
“Excuse me, could you please tell me how this all works. I need to unlock my Skills tab and was asked to come here.”
The gentleman at the window gave a warm smile and said, “Of course, I’d be happy to help. You are the first person from your batch to arrive. Please follow me.”
The attendant walked at a brisk pace toward a set of double doors on the other side of the building from where he entered. He continued to talk while walking ahead of Aenon. “Did you decide which route you want to pursue? Combat or non-combat?”
“Combat for sure.”
The attendant smiled and guided him to a side room. It had a large blue crystal sitting at the center with another desk a few feet from it. A wrinkly old man in green robes was sitting with a book in his hands. He looked up as the duo approached his desk. With a kind smile he greeted them.
“Welcome young man. Here to unlock your skills I assume?”
“Yes. Although I wonder why I had to come all the way here to do so. The map was unlocked using a crystal too,” Aenon asked curiously.
“Ah, you see, you need to have your old life examined closely to carry over your skills. No one appreciates wasting decades of their life with nothing to show for it, do they? Please place your hand on the assessment crystal when you are ready,” he explained patiently.
Aenon noticed that no one had commented about Harley so far, meaning that no one could see her. He cautiously looked in her direction and mentally asked her a question.
“You think I can access the assessment crystal through you? Maybe you can optimize something again?”
Of course. Stretch your hand forward and pretend to touch the assessment crystal. I will squeeze in between and work my magic.
He approached the crystal and pretended to touch it, with Harley between his palm and the crystal surface. The moment the crystals touched he was back in his soul space again.