After his brief conversation with Melissa, the receptionist, Nico found himself sitting on an operating table inside a secluded room.
The room was small with a couch and a shelf housing various potions, herbs and condiments that were sealed neatly in glass jars.
His eyes followed Melissa as she channelled her mana.
Her arms were slender, while her fingers were small with somewhat delicate scars on them.
Her waist was thin, and her hips were wide, making the red dress cling to her greedily while holding her chest like a parasite latching onto its host.
With eyes as brown as chocolate and hair as hazel as nature, Melissa was also accompanied by fair skin and rosy cheeks with smooth, delicate lips that seemed to hold the very secrets of the universe.
Even with all those features, Nico was more attentive to what she was doing with her hands.
She constantly curled them, forcing vines to crawl out through the opening in her arms and wrap tightly around her wrists.
A second after, she took a deep breath, and the room felt more alive, but a lot calmer than before.
Her hair swayed in the direction of her energy as she walked towards Nico, who felt his entire body soften even before Melissa could touch him.
She walked behind him and gentlypressedd her palms against his back, making Nico wince as the energy flushed into his wounds and healed him.
"How'd a new player get this beat up on day one?" Melissa asked as she watched Nico's body clean itself and repair the wounds.
"How can you tell I'm new...?" he groaned as the energy forcefully sealed his wounds.
"You've got a floating skull above your head that's visible to all veteran players—players who have lived for longer than a day—that gives you 24 hours of grace," she responded.
"That would explain why those people didn't kill me earlier..."
"Mh."
"... Do you have any recollection of how you ended up here?" Nico asked, almost quietly.
Melissa shook her head. "Just like you, I remember beating the game and waking up to this hellhole. I've been trapped here for 5 years, and I still can't understand why or how this happened..."
"Then how does the basis of the world work?"
"The same way the game worked," Melissa shrugged. "Hunt, kill, raid. That's how you survive.
"There are alternatives, but those are much harder to rely on. Additionally, there are compulsory monthly events that grant great rewards for great sacrifices. You'll love those," she rolled her eyes, trying not to sound sarcastic.
"Are they random?"
"Not exactly. After spawning, new players are given 30 days before they are forced to participate. If no one participates in the games for more than 30 days, they'll die.
"They're ranked E for weakest, all the way to S for strongest. Though Pyrros has rarely had any S-rank events."
Nico nodded after realising that the system that was pitted against the gods now catalysed the suffering of players.
If players chose to avoid the violence, the game would force them into it at the low cost of their lives.
Cruel, but smart.
"What else can you tell me...?" Nico asked as Melissa finished healing him.
She playfully slapped him on his back. "You shouldn't ask questions without the means of paying for answers. Do you know where you are?"
Nico chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "I guess I'll do the bare minimum with what I have. Thanks," he responded, his smile gentle.
Melissa sat down on her couch and watched as Nico put on a black shirt.
Her eyebrows rose as she sat crisscross. "You know, you're the first guy who hasn't said anything about my looks."
Nico rolled his eyes. "Maybe I think you're ugly. You can never truly know," Nico replied with a light chuckle, gazing at Melissa.
She pouted and crossed her arms. "How dare you! I'll have you know that I'm one of the prettiest women in Pyrros! There's a weekly ranking, and I'm always in the top 5."
"How many votes do you get?"
Melissa smirked as she stood up. "Over a thousand in this region alone."
"That makes over a thousand people wrong about your appearance."
Melissa screamed and pulled her hair slightly, her cheeks reddening and teeth grinding against each other.
"Why would you say that to a woman...?" she sighed heavily and dropped her arms.
Nico turned to look at her. "I just got my ass handed to me. By a woman no less. I think I'll save being horny for the future."
Melissa raised her head and smiled. "So you do think I'm pretty?"
"I'll get back to you on that, lady."
"Jeez, you're an asshole. Since you're fully healed, get the fuck out of my guild."
Melissa walked behind Nico and began pushing him out of the room, only for him to plant his feet heavily on the floor and resist as hard as he could.
'She's strong... And she's a dryad?!'
"Wait! I still have some stuff to purchase!"
***
「PLAYER STATUS – [V777 (Vortex_7)]」
◆ Level: 2
◆ Race: Phoenix
◆ Class: [Locked] (Lvl. 30 Required)
◆ HP: 105 / 105
◆ MP: 155 / 155
◆ Aestrol Coins: æ0.00
— ATTRIBUTES —
◆ Strength (STR): 11
◆ Endurance (END): 11
◆ Dexterity (DEX): 11
◆ Luck (LUK): ★☆☆☆☆ [Fate Hates You]
— RANKINGS —
◆ Overall Value: 1,600th Place
◆ Location: Pyrros
◆ Allies: None
— ABILITIES —
None Unlocked
— INVENTORY —
10 / 30 Used
After spending the rest of his peanuts on items he thought he'd need, Nico did a final check on his gear and planned on raiding a dungeon after getting some rest.
[Basic Longsword (80% chance of breaking): æ13,000]
[Basic starter clothing set (Black long coat, black pants, grey shirt, black boots): æ2,000]
[LED implant: æ500]
[Potion of health (23% chance of successful healing) ×4: æ1,000]
[Basic Food portions ×4: æ1,000]
[Basic Knife (90% chance of breaking): æ2,000]
'Firstly, the longsword and knife are actually trash. If I don't handle them with care, they could snap in the middle of a battle.
'If I hadn't known about the game's exploits before transmigrating, this would've hindered me greatly. Next up, my pieces of clothing are missing.
'The luck stat can just randomly steal my shit, as well as make me forget how to breathe...'
In addition to the terrible items he received, Nico also took out a loan to pay for the remainder of his things.
'æ2,400 coins of debt. Any change I make here will get taken by the guild, so getting a good dungeon to raid would help out severely.'
"Any luck?" Nico raised his head and closed his system screen as he smiled softly at Melissa, who was scrolling through her computer with her brows narrowed.
She only raised her eyes. "What level did you say you were again?"
"Level 2 currently."
She sighed through her nose. "Are you good at gardening, because those are the only missions I'll be able to give you at your level."
"What the fuck? I thought gardening could only be done in Drysopolis?" Nico squinted his eyes, making Melissa stifle a laugh.
"That's not the problem here, dude," she cleared her throat. "These dungeons and missions are all level 7 and above. So the only way you're raiding one is if you join someone of the dungeon's equal or greater level."
Nico sighed and rubbed his chin. 'What now...?'
"Hey, Melissa." Suddenly, a sharp, deep and loud voice snapped Nico out of his daze, forcing him to slowly turn his head to look at the source.
Behind him was a towering man with long curly black hair and deep brown eyes. His beard was thick and neatly trimmed, while his muscles looked like they could cut steel.
Hoisted on his back was a massive black sword with engravings that read, "Doom knows my name."
The man stood a foot above Nico, who was 6'3" and glanced at him with a soft smile on his face.
"Raymond..." Melissa smiled softly.
"Sorry, I was eavesdropping and I heard that you're a low-leve l player," he turned to Nico once more. "But you're also looking for a dungeon to raid."
Nico backed away and placed his back against the desk. "Yeah."
"Great. We were missing one member in our party before we could raid this level 10 dungeon. Would you be interested in joining us?" Raymond pointed behind him, and Nico peeked to see 6 other players sitting in the lounge.
He lifted one eyebrow. "I'm not sure..."
"Mh?"
"It's just that... I'm not sure if I can trust you with my life...? Does that make sense?"
Raymond laughed heartily and wiped the tears from his eyes. "You're actually kinda smart. We're gonna need some of that in the raid.
"Long story short, you're worried about how strong we actually are, right? Well, I'm a level 10, and the rest of my 3 main crew members are level 9s. The others are new, like you."
"I see..."
Nico glanced at Melissa, probably searching for a second opinion, and the expression on her face told him nothing useful.
It was his first time seeing someone so comfortable yet uncomfortable at the same time, almost as if they were hiding something.
So he turned his attention back to Raymond and accepted. "Sure, let's do this."
Raymond smiled brightly and wrapped his arm around Nico's shoulders, dragging him to the rest of the group.
"Great! Come on, I'll introduce you to the weirdos!"
Melissa watched him get dragged away and sighed through her nose. 'Shame. He seemed like a genuine person—rare in New Olympus. Too bad he'll die before anyone else can realise that.'