Chapter 5

The world had changed. Completely!

The skyscrapers which used to adorn the skies of my city were now replaced with rustic buildings made of wood and brimstone. Before this event, any person would have been hard-pressed to find a building with less than fifteen stories. Now, you would be hard-pressed to find one with more than three.

Concrete roads had changed to ones from medieval times. The best ones had some semblance of stone used. The worst ones were essentially tracks left behind by people who had used the path before.

No vehicles roamed the streets anymore. Modern medicine had been replaced too, replaced by potions with fancy names and hard to find ingredients.

Man had been the unopposed conqueror of the planet for the past few millennia. Man had never been as physically imposing as the apex predators of the planet but that had never hindered him. A combination of necessity and cunning had catapulted human beings right to the top of the food chain on the backs of innovation and development.

Now? We were back near the bottom. We weren’t inherently in danger, with harmless animals roaming the wilderness most times. If you were unlucky, you might come across a monster who, by some weird twist of fate, had managed to escape the confines of its dungeons.

No, the dungeons served as the prison for the truly dangerous creatures. Creatures that were only the stuff of legends and fantasies before this age rolled around. Humans were pretty safe from the monsters that filled the dungeons.

There was just one issue, though. Everything necessary for the survival of the human species as a whole could be found only in these dungeons. Thus, humans had to be brave enough, or insane enough, depending on which adjective you favoured, to willingly enter these prisons that were designed to hold these monstrosities.

It had been two weeks since my adventures with the Minotaur and my ‘friends’. I was currently sitting on a beautiful hillside slope with a perfect view of the setting sun. But I was too preoccupied with my watch to see it.

There, written in small letters, at the bottom of the information about my class were the words, “It is highly recommended that you assume appearances straight from your imagination. Taking on the appearances of acquaintances or public figures may lead to some overlap in personality. This may lead to severe tendencies like narcissism, sociopathy, lack of empathy, psychopathy, lack of moral judgement, emot-”

“Hey, you coming?” My attention was swept away by the question directed at me. I looked up to see ‘MightyMach’ sauntering towards me, an amused expression on his face. I just nodded at him, not wishing to engage in a conversation with him.

“You really don’t like to talk, huh?” I just stared at him with a deadpan expression. ‘MightyMach’ was an average looking guy with a stocky build, the kind of build one is likely to see in a construction worker. I had one major issue with him. He liked to talk. A lot. Not in a condescending ‘I love my own voice’ sort of way. He was interested in people. He wanted to know all their joys and all their woes. An admirable trait, all things considered. But a trait I, personally, didn’t find worth admiring.

He was also too trusting and far too naïve for my tastes. An Achilles’ heel in this new order, if there ever was one. His trusting nature extended to everyone, with no regard for the nature of the person in question. He wasn’t plain stupid though, as evidenced by the fact that he hadn’t yet divulged his real name outright to anyone.

Our real names, the ones which we were born with and not the ones we had chosen for ourselves in this system, were downright sacred. I didn’t yet know the repercussions of someone’s real name falling into another person’s hand but it wouldn’t be pleasant. That was one of the cardinal rules the system had hammered into us right at the beginning. How this system would work for children born after the invasion of this new order escaped me completely.

I was broken out of my thoughts by a chuckle from ‘MightyMach’. “Man, you really need to learn how to talk. It’s quite essential to the gathering we are going to, you know?”

I just gave a non-committal shrug in response. He took the hint and just shook his head before leading the way to our destination.

In quiet contrast to my demeanour, I was looking forward to the event I was going to be a part of in short order. I had a feeling that the upcoming event would be a big factor in the future, important enough to shape the very fabric of this new world.

We soon found ourselves in ‘The Drunkard’s Tale’, the most popular spot for hangouts and meetings. It was the only bar in this town, Aldon, making it very popular and always chock full of people, no matter the time of the day. Aldon was the town that was connected to most of the low-level dungeons of this country. This made it a very popular destination, especially now when no one in this world had figured out the mysteries of this world or cleared a dungeon, for that matter.

My companion looked at the barmaid for some sort of signal and received a nod in response. The owner of the bar just pointed towards a direction in the bar and we made our way to the room which had been booked for us by the host of the evening.

I couldn’t help but look at the barmaid and the owner once more. Human beings generated by the system, their entire existence only two weeks old. Once again, I couldn’t help but marvel at the system and how it completely flipped every belief human beings had in science or religion.

I entered the private room and was almost immediately confronted by the stares of the occupants, most of which held nothing but curiousity, although some did display hostility. Chairs were strewn around the room, mostly unoccupied. I went to the back of the room and leaned against the wall, giving me the view of the entire room. No chance of a backstabbing this way.

The man who stood at the centre of the room just flashed an amused smile at me, probably having gauged some of my thoughts. Judging by the confidence he displayed and the fact that most occupants were now looking at him after the brief gawking in my direction, I presumed that he was the host of this evening.

A girl entered the room shortly afterwards, prompting the host to close the door and bolting it shut. Making his way over to the centre of the room, he loudly exclaimed, enthusiasm lacing his tones, “Welcome everyone!”

He received some half-hearted greetings in reply but that didn’t seem to deter him in the least. He continued, “You might be wondering why you have been invited to come here today. The reason is simple. In this room, eleven of the strongest human beings in this country are currently present, all at the same time.”

This caused everyone to exchange looks. Everyone seemed to involuntarily size each other up as if they would be asked to prove their strength right then and there. I was quite surprised to hear that I was amongst the strongest in this new world. But to receive concrete proof was a pleasant surprise. Of course, circumstances and strength had played a huge role in my gaining of said strength.

“How do you know that?”, one of the other occupants asked.

“Through a neat skill that I was recently able to acquire. And no, I am not telling. We have all got to have our secrets, right?” His exuberance wasn’t lost but his words had definitely led to the tension rising in the room.

This was a problem. A person who could keep tabs on other players was a major player in this system. But most importantly, it provided me with the motivation to never remain in my original form for too long. I was already seeing this meeting as a mistake. An oversight on my part as I had come here in my original appearance. Especially considering the fact that ten other people now knew what I really looked like and my relative strength.

I subtly used ‘Observe’ on him. I was sure it would work on him, seeing as there was no way for him to have scaled me in levels with my huge headstart.

“Name: JadedDragon

Lvl 8

Class: Warrior

Guild: Not affiliated (Maybe associated but observe not high enough)”

I breathed a sigh of relief after looking at his stats, glad that he was of a lower level than me. Other people too were subtly checking him out, although I couldn’t be sure if they were using the same skill as me.