NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5: The First Companion
On the edge of the bed sat a boy, his hands shaking as he held a piece of dry bread. His eyes were wide, like he was on high alert, and he barely noticed when I entered.
He looked nervous, as if waiting for something bad to happen.
"Oh, sorry!" he exclaimed, almost dropping the bread on the floor. "I... I didn't know you were going to arrive... yeah..."
I stopped, dumbfounded, trying to understand what was happening. He noticed my presence, but instead of just standing up, he gave a little jump, as if he was getting caught.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
He tried to compose himself, with a nervous smile on his face, but failed. "Yes! Of course! Everything's great! I was just… finishing… packing things up." He paused, as if he didn't know what to say.
"So... you're my roommate, right?" I asked, still a little confused.
"That's right! I'm Rox, Rox Solis. Nice to meet you!" He stood up quickly, almost tripping over a chair that was half overturned. When he straightened up, he reached out his hand, but just as he tried to get closer, he remembered something and took a step back, clearly uncomfortable.
"Solis..." I thought, as if that surname was familiar to me. It was as if I had heard that name somewhere, perhaps in some story or even in research on Earth. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember exactly where. Still, the feeling of familiarity never left me.
"Are you okay, Rox?" I asked, trying to understand if he was scared or that was just how he was.
"Ah, it's just... I'm kind of... nervous about change, you know? Change of environment, new people... that sort of thing." He took a deep breath, as if preparing to face an invisible monster.
"But we're going to do our best, right? It's going to be alright! I promise!" said Rox
The scene was so unusual that I couldn't help but laugh. Rox looked like he was getting ready to face a dragon, but all he had to do was share a room with me.
He smiled, still adjusting the bed, and seemed to have calmed down a little. After a few seconds, he raised his head and, with a shy smile, said: "Ah, by the way... you must be wondering what I'm doing here, right?" He chuckled nervously, trying to break the tense atmosphere. "Well, actually... I'm an adventurer."
I looked at him for a moment, surprise giving way to a smile. This clumsy guy didn't seem like the kind of person you'd expect to be an adventurer, but I felt he'd be great company to tackle some dungeons with. "So, What level are you now?"
"I'm level 6," Rox said, a little embarrassed.
"Are you planning to explore a dungeon tomorrow?" I asked casually.
"Yes. tomorrow I'll go to the adventurers' guild to find someone to team up with and explore a dungeon... But why do you ask?", he replied, curious.
"You're an Otherworlder, aren't you?" I asked, using the term that inhabitants of that world often use to describe people from other worlds.
Rox looked at me, surprised, and gave a nervous laugh. "Yes, I am, but it's not like I'm an ET or something. I'm a human, just like you." He scratched the back of his neck, trying to look at ease.
I smiled internally. He fell right into my act. He was thinking I was a native inhabitant of this world, and not someone like him. Right now, he doesn't need to know the truth. Maybe I wouldn't trust myself enough to take advice if I knew we were the same.
"Then it's decided! I'll go explore a dungeon with you!" I clapped my hands together, with a confident smile on my face.
"Wait, are you an adventurer too?" Rox asked, excited.
"Yes, I'm at level 6 too. I hope we get along well" I replied with a positive gesture, trying to reinforce confidence.
...
The next morning, we woke up early and went straight to the adventurers' guild. Upon arrival, Rose was there to welcome us as usual. I greeted her and introduced Rox as my new exploring companion.
"Well, there's a small misunderstanding here regarding Warps and Dungeons, so let me explain how it all works." Rose said with a serious tone.
From her explanation, I gathered that in this world, mana is an arcane energy that permeates the entire environment, being responsible for countless magical phenomena, including the creation of monsters. Just like in Earth physics where energy converts into atoms to form the basis of all matter, in this world, mana plays a similar role by organizing and condensing energy into tangible, often living forms.
The concentration of mana at certain areas called "Warps" creates a phenomenon known as "Magic Crystallization", where raw energy begins to transform into physical matter. This process is slow but continuous, making mana go from a "magical essence" to complex organisms – monsters.
"In addition to the monsters that spawn naturally in warps, there is something even rarer and more dangerous that can happen when the amount of mana in an area becomes out of control or exceeds its natural limit." Rose continued.
"In situations where there is an overflow of mana, the excess of this concentrated energy manifests itself in a more extreme way. This is when a Dungeon begins to form. These dungeons are immense and have an varied number of floors."
"The dungeons appear once or twice a year, often in the Kingdom of Rune-Midgard, and are a phenomenon that attracts adventurers from all corners. That's because within the dungeons, the rewards are incomparable. The monsters that inhabit these places, including the Big Boss that rules the deepest floors, drop rare items at an absurdly higher rate. For adventurers, the dungeons are a unique opportunity to get rich and obtain items that would otherwise be impossible to find anywhere else."
"Of course," she smirked, "entering a dungeons is as dangerous as it is rewarding. Many enter and never return. Each floor brings challenges that no one can predict, and the Bosses that guard the deeper floors... well, few survive to tell their stories."
"Speaking of which," Rose continued, "the last Dungeon came out about three months ago, but has already been taken down, so you'll have to wait until the next one shows up for you to explore it."
That was disappointing. From what I heard of other people's conversations, I thought there were multiple dungeons. It sounded like it was way more advantageons to kill monsters there.
"That dungeon lasted for a month and a half despite the efforts of several guilds trying and failing to defeat the final Boss. It was then that one of the strongest guilds, the Stormlords decided to take action. They allied with two other top guilds and, together, managed to finish the dungeon before it became too strong."
She then explained how Dungeons got stronger as time passes, and how important it is to finish them before they become too strong and start expanding, threatening nearby cities.
"So, it's a rare occorrence for such a dungeon to apppear and force the top guilds to ally, right?"
Rose nodded. "Yes. Most of the time, the guilds try to defeat the boss by themselvez, but when that seems impossible, they form an alliance to take it down. Still, this dungeon was far from being the one that lasted the longest. There have been dungeons that took more than 5 years to be taken down."
Rox's eyes sparkled with admiration. "That sounds really amazing. One day... one day I will become a member of a top guild and take down the strongest dungeons!"
Rose smiled when she saw Rox's determination. "Well, for that, you're going to need a lot of strength and courage. So, how about exploring a warp on the outskirts of Prontera? That region where a gigantic jungle is located is where many low-level monsters are generated. That's where most new adventurers begin their journey."
I found myself thinking for a moment, trying to understand how we could get to Prontera. Walking there seemed like an impossible quest, it would take days.
"But how do we get to Prontera?" I asked, raising the doubt that was bouncing around in my head.
Rose looked at me and explained in a calm tone "You can get to Prontera, yes. But the problem is that getting into the city won't be easy."
"Why?" I asked, curious.
"Prontera is controlled by a powerful oligarchy. To even set foot into it, you need to pay 10 thousand Zenys. It is a rich city, very rich indeed. Rumor has it that Prontera - unlike our city which received "few" Otherworlders - was inundated with them. Most were promptly expelled, their fate uncertain. Some say they were scattered throughout the kingdom, while others whisper they were even sent as far away as the Republic of Schwartzvald."
The high tax made me stop to reflect on the reality of that place. It was evident that, in some places, Otherworlders were being discriminated against. The lives of those who did not have in-depth knowledge of this world will be full obstacles.
"But how will we get to the outskirts of Prontera, and how will we get back?" I asked, with even more doubts in my mind.
Rose smiled slightly, noticing my confusion. "Well, on the outskirts of Prontera, near the villages, there are several adventurer camps. And most importantly, there are gatewatchers there. They control portals that take you to every city in Rune Midgard."
'This was news to me. Those camps and villages? They didn't exist when I played the game. It's had a lot of updates while I've been away, but I didn't play enough in the last years to keep up with everything that changed.'
"What are the quests in the jungle of Prontera?" I asked Rose, curious.
"Well, if you're looking for quests, the adventurer's guide at the camp there can help you. He has some quests related to the surrounding area. Here, at the guild, we only have quests that are more focused on our city, and there are generally few options. The most interesting ones, so to speak, are deeper into the jungle of Prontera, and are of rank D or C."
After hearing Rose's response, I said goodbye and headed towards the Gatewatchers with Rox, ready to venture into the plains around Prontera.
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Protagonist Date:
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Day: 6
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Class Level: 1
Base Level: 6
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Life Status:
HP: 150
MP: 40
Attributes:
STR: 9
AGI: 5
VIT: 5
INT: 5
DEX: 6
LUK: 5
Combat Statistics:
ATK: 28
MATQ: 14.5
HIT: 6
Critical: 1
DEF: 12
MDEF: 5
Flee: 5
ASPD: 106
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Zeny: 2020
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Equipped Equipment:
Knife
ATK: 17
Description: A simple knife.
Cotton Shirt
DEF: 10
Description: Simple cotton shirt. To be used on any occasion.
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Inventory:
Items Quantity
Flower: 4
Sprout: 4
Stem: 6
Lantana: 2
Felpa: 4
Mint: 2
Romantic Flower: 4
Celatom: 2
Melody Plant: 2
Makulrata: 2
Bitter Herb: 2
Green Herb: 5
Sharp Scale: 2
Aloe: 2
Aloe Leaf: 2
Romantic Leaf: 2
Red Herb: 6
Yellow Herb: 3
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