“Hmm, I think you will lose a few levels in the game.”
“Wrong. Guess again.”
“Are you going to lose all of your equipment?”
“Wrong guess, again. Third and final try.”
This time she took this small challenge seriously as if it was a challenge to her intelligence. Then she said:
“The game will reduce the XP you gain when you kill monsters for a long time.”
“Wrong again.”
“What is the punishment then? C’mon, tell me!”
“I will ask you a question: What will the player do when he reaches the tenth level in the novice Village?”
“The player goes to the village governor so that he can go to his city. Hey, did the game prevent you from entering the city?”
“You are right and wrong at the same time. The game did not prevent me directly from entering the city, but it delayed me from entering it.”
“What do you mean, I didn’t understand?”
Ibro sighed, saying in regret:
“For the player to enter the city, he must seek the assistance of the village governor.
My village governor is dead by monsters, and the village itself has been destroyed and does not exist now. For me to be able to enter Memphis city, the game gave me 2 options. Either I travel towards the nearest novice village and seek the assistance of its governor to enter the city, or to walk towards Memphis city itself.”
“Both are impossible options! At the current level, you cannot move in the wilderness alone, not to mention that you do not know the location of Memphis city or any novice villages. Both options have sentenced you to death.”
“I know, that’s why I’m now very disappointed.”
She kept her silence as she did not know what to say to him. If she were in his shoes, she would feel the same desperation.
But at the same time, she felt strange about his actions. Even if she was crazy she would not try to destroy the novice village as he did.
As for the two solutions, it won’t be an easy journey, but an impossible one! This meant that his punishment was to remain in his place without entering the city. For a player to develop himself, he must enter the city.
There, he would upgrade his class, learn new skills, and get quests that novice villages could not provide.
She fell silent and was thinking about a way to help him. She was quite far from him. The only way she could help him was after she succeeded in reaching the city.
This was an impractical solution, as she was still at the third level. She had a long time until she could reach the tenth level.
Likewise, if Ibro waited all this time for her to go to the city and buy return scrolls to Ihnasia city and sent it to him; he would lose his high-level advantage that he had right now.
After a long time of deep thinking she couldn’t find any other solution so she suggested:
“I have a solution for you but it will make you lose all your advantages that you have now over other players.”
“What’s the solution?”
“Wait for me in your place until I go to Ihnasia city. I will buy a return scroll to the city for you. Then I will send it to you as a package.”
In fact, he had thought about this solution, but he removed it from his list of available options. He would lose the big advantage he had now.
He was now at the level 15. She needed a lot of time till she could reach level 10. If he waited for her, he would waste a lot of time that could make him go farther than this.
If he couldn’t find another solution then he would eventually agree to that solution.
“Unfortunately, this solution is useless Oya.”
“Why? Are you afraid the game will not agree to your teleportation to a city other than the one you began at?
This is illogical, as when we go to a city we can immediately move from one city to another freely. This return scroll is an entry pass available for any player to use.”
Her words struck him suddenly in a way that made his brain froze. He asked eagerly:
“Can you repeat what you just said again?”
“You were not focused on me?”
Ibro felt a hint of anger in her voice, so he quickly said:
“No, I just felt like I had forgotten something very important and your words reminded me of this thing.”
She seemed not to be convinced of what he said, but she said nevertheless:
“I told you that you can use the return scroll without any limitations from the game. The return scroll allows any player to move to the city as long as he owns it, as it is an entry pass to the city that can take you across any city gates!”
“An entry pass to the city that can take you across any city gates!… An entry pass to the city that can take you across any city gates!… An entry pass to the city that can take you across any city gates!”
Ibro began to repeat her words like he was captivated by them. He was repeating them, again and again, trying to think about the hidden meanings of this phrase.
He was sure he missed something very crucial and those words kept knocking on his locked memories with a great echo. He felt the presence of resonance in the deepest parts of his mind when he said that phrase.
That phrase had a powerful impact on his mind and this meant he knew something similar to these words.
When she saw him behave in this strange way, she felt that her words had inspired him with something. So, she kept her silence and watched him closely.
He looked handsome to her especially when he was tall with these well-built muscles that appeared under his equipment.
What she liked also about him was her persistence. Despite his desperate situation, his mind was still clinging to the last straw of hope.
She liked this simple glimpse of his character. She watched him for a few minutes.
Suddenly, Ibro stopped whispering to himself like a madman. His eyes shone in a way that made him look crazier. He raised his head and started to laugh hysterically.
He looked toward Oya with great gratitude and then said happily:
“I found a way out of my disaster.”
“Oh really?! Tell me what is this solution?!”
“It’s all thanks to you.”
Then he took out a blue coin and then said joyfully:
“This is an Apidon coin. It is an entry pass that can teleport me directly to the Mythic city of Apidon.”
“Apidon coin?!! The Mythic city of Apidon?!!What do these unknown words mean Ibro?!”
Ibro laughed out loud again. It was normal for her not to know the existence of this important city. No player would hear about it until the fourth year of the game.
“It is a city located outside all known domains of the game. You can consider it the beginning of the real world behind the game.”
She fell silent for a while trying to understand what Ibro just said. What was really strange to her was the way that Ibro talked about this city.
He seemed to know how important this city was! How did he know this info? She looked at him to feel he was shrouded in a cloud of mystery. She propped:
“You say there is a world behind the game world that we are playing now.”
“Yes, this world should not be discovered by anyone in the current stage of the game. Even those who are watching you and blackmailing you do not know these details yet.
But I assure you that this game is not like any other virtual reality games that you have played before.”
Bingo! He confirmed her suspicion. He knew this game like he had lived in it before. She thought about all the possibilities and then asked:
“Are you an alien?”
That question really surprised him. She was very intelligent, so it wasn’t strange for her to think about this option. This meant that she began to look for the reason behind him knowing all these secrets.
He first kept silent looking to her in a strange way then he burst in laughter before saying:
“No, I’m an Earthian.”
Before she continued to ask him more questions about his biggest secret he continued:
“One day I will tell you everything. So, don’t bother asking now and keep patient.”
She looked confused. Why was he so secretive about the source of his info? She planned to know all the info she could get from him about the game secrets. So, she changed the topic asking seriously:
“Why is this mystery and secrecy in this particular game? What is unique about it?”
“Knowing these things now may threaten you. As you can see, the game was not happy with what I knew and tried to kill me.”
He tried to evade delving deeper into these secrets. It was enough what he told her already. But Oya wouldn’t let him escape this easily so she asked directly:
“You talk about the game as … as if it was a real person, not a program!!”
Ibro sighed hesitantly. He was miraculously freed from the dark plot against him, so what about her? He did not want her to suffer as she suffered in her past life.
“All you guessed is true. Do not try to know any more hidden secrets about the game at the present time. When you grow stronger, I will explain everything to you.”
His words carried a direct warning and a lot of hidden meanings. She did not know whether she should pursue these secrets that Ibro knew or trust his warning. Finally, she decided to trust him, but she was not ready yet to let him get away easily like that.
“I will not ask you again about those secrets. I can promise you! But in return, you have to help me.”
He faked ignorance of what she meant by her words, as he asked innocently:
“I help you? What do you want me to help you with?”
“Now you don’t know what I mean? I want you to help me improve my level and skills in the game.”
“Does this not fall under game secrets? You just promised me not to ask me about game secrets.”
“No, this can’t be considered under the game secrets. I want guidance on my class and what I can do in the game from an expert like you Ibro.”
“I am an expert? I’m really a newbie!”
She didn’t reply and kept looking straight at him. Oya didn’t wait as she stopped his small act saying:
“Do not treat me like a fool. Your acting skills are very bad. C’mon, tell me a little from what you know, newbie boy!”
Ibro laughed when his little play was revealed by her in this way. He then said joking:
“Okay, I’ll help you. But don’t get used to this expert girl.”
