Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Loot

When Hugo’s vision turned white, he reappeared in a completely blank space. Grid lines formed the floor and ceiling of this place, but other than that, Hugo couldn’t see anything of substance. 

But before long, it was as if tiles began to flip, and from one end to the next, the world slowly opened to reveal… 

Water.

“..!”

Hugo was shocked when he found himself underwater. But his body and mind remained completely calm. 

Thankfully, it seemed someone was expecting him to arrive. Hugo felt his arms be grabbed and pulled, and his body was picked up out of the water. 

“...!”

Hugo took a few quiet breaths while wiping the water out of his eyes.

Then, he looked around. 

He seemed to be in some kind of temple with statues of a woman scattered in the corners of rooms and decorated with lush green plant life. 

Hugo recognized the woman. It was Eve, the Overseer of the magic continent. Though, Hugo hadn’t chosen which continent he wanted to go to, meaning it was chosen for him, no doubt by the Child. 

“Are you okay? You at least seem to recover quickly.”

“Hm?”

Hugo looked at the man who had pulled him out of the pool of water. 

He looked like a priest, adorned in white greek robes, yet he seemed to be really powerful since his arms rippled with uncharacteristic muscles. 

Hugo nodded. 

“Yea, I’m fine.”

“Good. Here, come stand in front of the mirror.”

The priest guided him across the white marble floor before setting Hugo in front of a large mirror. 

Looking at himself, Hugo found his normal body and face. Thankfully his lowers were covered in a short robe as well. 

Seeing the image in the mirror… well, Hugo was smiling to say the least. 

A year of hellish and brutally efficient training with the help of serums all worked to chisel him into the spitting image of anatomic greatness. Each of his muscles were alarmingly well defined and lean after having undergone some compression. He might barely be able to qualify as a superhuman. 

He was proud of his work. 

Even the priest beside him had wide eyes at his physique. 

“So…”

The point of this mirror though wasn’t just to see how you look. The priest quickly explained after seeing Hugo’s questioning gaze. 

“You can alter your appearance using the mirror. Minor cosmetic changes are just about all you can do. Just so you know, although you can determine the look now, your hair will grow and won’t remain in the style you give it until you find someplace to change or cut it. So while there are items and places to alter yourself, this may be the only time it is free. Choose your alterations wisely.”

“Mm.”

Nodding in understanding, Hugo gave his body a one over. 

He immediately decided that his body was perfectly fine. His face was also good. He didn’t feel the need to make himself look prettier than he was. And since nobody knew his true identity, there would be no need to change his appearance into something different or uglier. 

That just left his hair. 

His hair had gotten rather unruly in the time he was training. It ended up growing out and being put in a small ponytail most of the time. Hugo had decided to let it grow while he trained, and well, he wasn’t really done training even though he was in the game. 

In that case, he just decided to make it looked a bit less crazy. With his mind, he envisioned the changes he wanted, and when he was done, his hair was all brushed back with a small ponytail sloping down the back of his neck. 

“Alright, that’s it.”

“Very well. Now, go ahead and put these clothes on, and you will be able to go into the city.”

“Will do.”

Hugo happily accepted the standard brown shirt, pants, and cheap leather shoes, putting everything on as normal before going through an exit. 

With that, he was spit out onto a bustling street. 

Both NPC’s and players frequented this street. Players weren’t very distinguishable from the NPC’s though. There were no tags or the like, so the only way to know was to catch unique mannerisms, ask them directly, or use an ability. 

Hugo took in the sight of the city for a while. 

Contrary to the medieval setting of the game, the city was plenty advanced. Most of the buildings were at least 100 meters tall, the streets were lined with glistening roads which allowed all the wagons to drive around at surprisingly fast speeds. 

Odd magical lights across the buildings, healthy residents, machinery, and more. This was a modern city, just instead of technology, it was made modern by modern magic. 

And in the center of the city was a massive palace standing a few hundred meters tall. From that palace, occasional objects flew in and out of it. Looking closer, many of those objects were either huge winged animals or flying wagons. 

It was a pretty sight, one that made Hugo even more impressed with the work his company did. 

“Hello, new anomaly.”

“Hm?”

Suddenly, a man approached Hugo. He wore a white robe and looked to be a strong middle aged man. But the way he approached seemed sketchy, and Hugo didn’t know if he was a player or NPC.

But Hugo was more curious than afraid. He greeted back.

“Hello.”

“I see you just arrived in this world. Would you mind humoring me with a discussion? I promise it’ll be worth your while.”

“Hm… Sure.”

Hugo readily agreed, causing the man to smile. 

“Thank you. Please, follow me. I’ll treat you to your first meal.”

Saying that, the man led Hugo to a nearby restaurant. There were plenty of people here, so Hugo wasn’t worried about being robbed or anything. Not that he had anything on him.

What could he lose, having just arrived in this world with nothing to his name?

After the two sat down, the man removed his hood, revealing a head of long hair. 

“My name is Lahng. Nice, to meet you, anomaly.”

“My name is Hugo. And why do you call me anomaly?”

Hugo asked what had been on his mind as they walked. This man named Lahng had called him an anomaly when they met too. 

The man smiled. 

“That’s what we natives to this world call all you who hail from an unknown realm. You can’t die and have wildly different personalities, though the obsession to get stronger seems to pervade your entire population.”

“Interesting…”

Hugo nodded, impressed. 

It seemed that the npc’s in this game didn’t just conveniently gloss over the odd nature of these aliens. As befitting a virtual reality that was filled with unique life, they too were curious about the people who came from another world. But, since it had already been a year since the game’s release, they seemed to have come to terms and allowed the aliens to settle into their society. After all, they mostly brought major benefits in the form of labor. 

Lahng continued. 

“Anyway, I should tell you why I called on you and brought you here. I hope to make an exchange.”

“What kind?”

“I give you information, and you help me with a task.”

“Hm. Alright. I don’t know much about this world anyway.”

“Great.”

Lahng smiled before diving into a brief explanation. 

He talked about the three factions of the world: The Celestials, the Mechanics, and the Magicians. He also talked about why these three factions were distinguished so. 

The Celestials used the power of the mind, creating what were called Celestial Arts. 

The Mechanics used the power of the machine and a mysterious technique where they could connect their vitality to the machines they operated, enhancing their abilities greatly. 

And Magicians used the power of nature, using the world’s energy as a pool to draw from and manipulate according to their needs. 

Three very different systems creating three very different empires. And now, they were beginning to go to war. 

The Magicians apparently controlled the largest and richest continent, and the others didn’t like that. So they were moving against the Magicians in a war of expansion. 

But of course, things weren’t so simple, only, the actual reasons couldn’t be known to peasants like Hugo and Lahng. 

Other than that, Lahng went on to describe how both players and npc’s went about getting stronger. 

There were three major factors that determined strength: Level, Classes, and Proficiencies. 

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One’s level was obvious. Killing just about anything gave what was known as Essence, which was basically Experience. Collecting enough Essence made you break past certain Life Barriers which were levels, moving you up the hierarchy of existence and making you inherently stronger. 

As for Classes, they were what specialized your strengths, and Classes were always centered around specific skillsets. 

For example: Bowman, Warrior, Spearman, Thief, Blacksmith, Tailor, Alchemist, Tamer.

There was a long list of classes, and classes were different depending on the faction one was aligned to. Not only that, but classes naturally evolved as one broke past Life Barriers, evolving into greater forms and giving greater skills. 

Above all that though, Lahng explained how there were different types of classes. Basic classes like the warrior, Advanced classes like the Knight, and Special classes like the Sword Dancer.

Better classes naturally gave greater skills and had better growth potential. But they also demanded greater effort and skill to utilize and grow them. An ordinary person would absolutely be out of their league attaining a Special class. They would forever remain stuck at the bottom simply because they were unable to use their class. 

There was only so much the game held your hand with. In many ways, it could be just as brutal as the real world. 

Finally, there were Proficiencies, and they were the main reason why an ordinary person shouldn’t jump at Special classes. 

Each skill came with a proficiency, which measured how close your unassisted movements were to the actual skill. When you hit a certain proficiency, or the system judged your skill sufficient, your skill would be primed for evolution. At that point, many of the downsides of the skill, like strict cooldowns and whatnot, could be directly ignored through unassisted usage. 

One also couldn’t evolve their class until all, or most, of their skills were fully proficient. Only then could one take the class advancement test, and one could still fail that test even if their skills were proficient. 

Greater classes demanded greater proficiencies and harder tests. For many, the Proficiency system was a ruthless judge that prevented many from becoming stronger, but then again, they could only be blamed for being unable to execute the necessary skills. It was a matter of qualifications. 

Beyond these things, there were auxiliary skills which were skills outside of class skills that were acquired through skill tomes or training. Then there were items and their various grades, mounts that one could obtain with some luck or lots of money, storefronts or homes in the city. 

There were a great many details that Lahng spoke about, filling Hugo’s mind with all sorts of curiosities. 

In this game, nothing was off limits. In fact, it seemed like the game system was merely a supportive mechanic in this virtual reality, not what the entire game was focused on. Reality was rich, making one focus more on it than the numbers on their status screen. 

This fact was what made The Ascent so popular. 

Hugo listened to Lahng talk for around 45 minutes, asking questions and making conversation along the way. The two seemed like good friends, talking how they were. Even Lahng stopped seeing this as a chore and enjoyed the discussion. 

Before an hour could come around though, an alarm suddenly rang throughout the city. 

Everyone in the restaurant stood from their seats as what sounded like an air siren sent echoes through the streets. 

Hugo was confused. 

“What’s that?”

“Monster raid.”

Lahng spoke solemnly, causing Hugo’s brows to raise. 

“Monster raid?”

“An organized attack by monsters on the city. They happen rather frequently, but despite the threat they pose, you anomalies love them. Good way to get Essence, or so they say.”

He continued to speak with a dark face. Hugo was confused by this. Was it such a big deal? Were they all at risk even behind the walls?

Suddenly, Lahng looked at Hugo. 

“Hugo, you remember that thing I wanted you to help me with?”

“I do.”

“I’m sorry to ask that I require your help now. Please come with me. Quickly.”

Saying that, Lahng pulled Hugo along, quickly running out of the restaurant. At the same time, Hugo could hear cheers and see crowds of players running towards the walls. 

Monster raids were indeed the perfect time for killing and getting Essence. Hugo was sure that there were rewards for killing the monsters as well handed out by the city itself. After all, players were an immortal form of labor. With the right pay, they would jump dick first off a cliff for you. 

But Lahng didn’t seem to be running toward the wall. As Hugo followed, he found them traveling through alleys and back streets, eventually coming to a place near the center of the city. 

It was a large store, and the two entered hastily. Lahng directly bypassed the store owner who didn’t stop them, and they walked downstairs toward a basement. 

Lahng opened a door to enter a large and brightly lit space. There were already dozens of people there, and Hugo was pushed toward the crowd of people who were standing around in confusion. 

“Stay here and do as instructed.”

“Alright. And thank you for the informative talk, Lahng.”

Hugo nodded with a grin toward Lahng, finding the situation interesting. Lahng smiled back and walked away to talk to people who seemed like the leaders of this sketchy operation. 

Hugo turned to his side, finding another young man who seemed to be around 18 years old. He didn’t look very good, obviously uncomfortable with being here yet fearful of even making a peep. 

“Hi. My name is Hugo.”

He stuck his hand out to the boy, earning a strained smile in return. 

“Hello…”

“Do you know what we’re doing here? I haven’t been told what our assignment is yet.”

“I don’t know… But its nothing good…”

The boy shook in fright, and suddenly, Hugo remembered that there weren’t only players in this place. Some of these people were probably npc’s, and based on how scared the boy was, he was probably an npc’s with only one life to live. 

Hugo decided to ask. 

“Hey, are you a native?”

“W-what? No, I’m a player…”

“Oh.”

Hugo’s face went blank. Why was he so scared then?

“Listen up!”

Suddenly, a large man at the front roared, causing the room to shake a bit. 

“You all have been called here for a very special task! We need some extra backs to carry a bunch of things out of a certain warehouse! Our team is currently over there making sure everything is safe before we send you weaklings inside. We leave in 5 minutes! But first, I’m going to explain some rules! Disobey them, and we’ll kill you!”

The man yelled threateningly before going over a list of rules. 

Basically, everyone had to use sacks to carry items, and after branching out to find items, they needed to return within 10 minutes. 

Other than that, the rest of the rules were meaningless. Stuff like no hiding or wearing items, stuff that nobody here could get away with when everyone was wearing nothing but basic clothing. 

And with that, the large man was interrupted by banging on another door. Opening it, someone who was covered in a dark hood came inside and spoke to the leader. 

“Alright! It’s time! Everyone move out and listen to orders!”

Suddenly, all the naive recruits were shoved into the doorway by men with pointed spears. Hugo moved amongst the crows, entering a dark yet large tunnel that was lit up with few magic lamps. 

After running through this tunnel for a while, they passed a stone wall before entering another underground room. This room was occupied by several hooded figures and what looked like guards who were either dead or unconcious. 

“You! Go scout any rooms in that direction! You, go that way! Grab a sack and take anything that looks valuable! If you come back with nothing, I’ll kill you myself!”

This time, it was a large woman dressed in thick armor that was shoving the naive recruits in different directions. The place they were in seemed to be either an estate or a storage area, as there were several hallways with large doors. 

Hugo followed the dozens of recruits until the woman yelled at him. 

“You! Take the sack and head down the far hallway! Hurry up!

“Yes Sir!”

Hugo gave a weird salute before grabbing a sack and running down to the far hallway. 

After going through the doorway, things became much quieter, and Hugo observed the surroundings. 

The place seemed very luxurious. The walls were white and there were many pillars lined with gold. Hugo suspected that this was a part of the massive castle in the center of the city. 

And he was here to rob it. His employers obviously weren’t kind or upright citizens. They had raided this place and were now using naive anomalies like Hugo to move cargo. 

But Hugo wasn’t particularly concerned. It wasn’t like he had anything at stake. So he strolled through the hallway leisurely, deciding which place he wanted to loot. 

He seemed to get carried away though. After finally picking a door, Hugo found that it led to another hallway. He walked down this hallway before taking a turn into yet another hallway. 

This happened a few more times before Hugo finally made it to a large plaza. 

“...Well, I’m lost.”

Hugo spoke as he looked around. 

In this plaza were massive statues that stood tall with weapons adorned and great auras of valiance. The figures seemed to be renowned knights of legend, perhaps past kings. 

Hugo could also see several dead bodies, giving him a small fright. Reality or not, Hugo had never seen a dead body in person, and everything in this world was completely realistic. 

Blood, guts, shattered bones, and pools of red. Hugo walked past it all until he came to another large set of doors at the end of the plaza. 

One of the two double doors had a massive hole in it that seemed to be cut by a very powerful swordsman. There seemed to also be magical arrays that were shattered as they occasionally pulsed with bright glows across the surface of the door. 

Hugo ducked and walked into the hole. 

And he was surprised by the sight. 

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