Alex blinked a few times.
The distant figure was waving at him, clearly calling him over.
'It should be fine.'
[You've used Common D-rank
Alex's body soared up high in the sky, traversing through the small ridges that separated the base of the hill and the den.
Had it not been inside its humble den, killing the Duskerville hound would've been a bit troublesome due to this Skill.
"Yo," The man lightly raised his right arm, "You killed the hound huh?"
"Yeah, sorry. I'm sure you'll find another den."
The man had sharp and slightly messy silver hair that fell down to his nape, a rather unique choice in that department. His hair colour, along with his rich crimson eyes and almost pale milkish skin, made him look kinda…cool.
'Of course, the cliche white hair-red eyes combo looks good in any media.' Alex noted.
"Eventually…talk about adapting way too fast to the situation."
The man let out a soft, almost plain chuckle then smiled,
"I'm Luke, are you here to meet Yuki as well?"
Luke said while subtly glancing towards the thick grey clouds at the higher end of the visible hill.
These clouds hid the peak of The Guardian's Hill where Yuki, the Guardian of Kentel forest, lives.
"Yeah, wanna go together? I'm Alex."
Alex's invitation wasn't simply done on a whim. In fact, it served a certain purpose.
One of them was because he felt it'd be more entertaining to climb the hill with someone like Luke.
"Someone like Luke," meant that when Alex used his Title Property, this is what he saw:
[You've used {Title Property}: {Analyze}]
[...]
[...]
[PLAYER PROFILE]
Name: Torl_506
Class: Fighter
Level: 5
Title: The Armamentbound
Title Property: Allows the Cast to equip any Item or object as his weapon.
Curse: i) Without anything equipped, the Cast's stat is reduced to 55% of their original stat.
ii) All Weapons are only worth 15% of their original stat when equipped by the cast.
[...]
[...]
A fellow Main cast, not to mention someone close to his in-game level, wasn't a bad companion.
But more than that,
'I wonder what his Aspects would be.'
Alex had given his A.I. partner Claire the permission to create five Titles and add a few changes to the game as 'she' considered fit.
It wouldn't be fun for him if he was too overpowered.
Luke's Title, The Armamentbound, must've been one of her creations.
"Nice to meet you then, Alex…"
Not to mention it must be quite overpowered for Claire to give him not one but two Curses.
Alex on the other hand had no Curse. Just like Luke, his Title was created by Claire herself.
If he had to choose between his creations and a creation of Claire that was promised to be fitting for him, then Alex would—and did choose the latter.
As long as they weren't too out of hand, unexpected variables were always welcome.
'I wonder what she meant by I don't need a Curse though? Well, I'm sure it'll be fun to find out.'
"Hooooo…hooo.."
Suddenly, Luke let out a long, almost…no, definitely exaggerated exhale.
"Hmm?"
"That was way too awkward! Let's get going then, stranger I just met."
Luke's demeanor took a bright turn as he took the initiative towards the peak of The Guardian's Hill.
"...I literally just told you my name. I mean, not that you're wrong."
Though a bit dumbfounded, Alex followed behind and walked besides Luke.
'Now then, show me what you made, Claire.'
***
"What do you think of that message?"
Luke asked while glancing at Alex.
Without him needing to clarify, Alex instantly knew what he meant. All the other players of Holyug Online would've been able to do the same as well.
"I'd say it sounds pretty true for the most part. I wish they'd specify when exactly the Daily Tax will be deducted from our Balance though."
He added the latter part not because he thought Luke would suspect him, but because he wanted his words to sound almost calm yet cautious.
"Hmm…you're quite adaptable I see, not bad. As expected of a human."
'...okay?'
"You? Are you on the side that still think this is a prank from CAL2?" Alex inquired.
To this, Luke simply scoffed, then smirked confidently,
"Does it even matter? I'll let you in on a little secret, I wasn't trapped here. I let myself be trapped."
"What?"
Alex asked, slightly puzzled by his confession.
"You won't get it, in the end, you're just a human after all."
Luke said in a playful yet somewhat serious tone.
'...Ah, I see.'
"Then, let me ask you a question, are you among the five hundred Beta-testers?"
To know about the Guardian Yuki wasn't necessarily a Beta-tester exclusive knowledge however, the server was only opened less than one and a half hour ago.
This meant that not only did Luke take less than an hour and half to traverse Kentel forest all the way to The Guardian's Hill, but he did so with a Title that had a Curse like his.
One can't really skip all the fights in Kentel forest, which must mean that Luke had a sense for how combat worked in Holyug Online.
…Or it could be that he had played other MMORPGs before and was able to reach The Guardian's Hill by sheer dumb luck—but then again, he knew about the Duskerville hound so that was more or less an answer.
Regardless, in the end, Alex just wanted to have a conversation with a player.
"Among…you say? That's a low bar. You're walking besides a man who reached the 25th floor along with those fifty six other humans."
"Oh, I'm the same. The 21st Boss was really fun to fight wasn't he?"
"I see, so that's how you were able to aim that Leap Skill so well. Not bad."
The Beta version of The Brand New World: Holyug Online, had only up till the 25th floor. Meaning that only fifty seven players among the five hundred were able to reach the highest floor of that current version.
These fifty seven players would—if they bought and played this version of Holyug Online—undoubtedly play key roles in the conquest of this game.
Meeting one of them here was not a surprise, but it certainly felt like some sort of fate to Alex.
"That explains why you're so calm. But, are you really not nervous, even if it's just slightly?"
"Don't bother checking on my psyche, you should be worried about yourself instead, human."
Thanks to Luke's playful and a little eccentric nature, Alex found it surprisingly fun to talk to him.
'Huh, must be the after-effect of being too ecstatic about my success.'
Qhichh…qhichh…
As they were walking, a small creaking sound escaped from somewhere.
They were currently in a grassy, open area and even though it was a bit vertically slanted, there were no places for any Monsters to hide.
[You've equipped Common D-rank
Yet, both Alex and Luke were tense and vigilant, swiftly turning their heads from one direction to another.
Qhichh…qhichh…
There were a few trees, slightly large boulders of onyx, and the cool breeze of the night calming caressing their faces.
Qhichh…qhichh…
Thanks to the bright silver moon, practically everything surrounding them was visible.
"I think it sounded a bit distant."
Luke said in a low voice.
As seconds passed, the creaking noise could no longer be heard.
"It's probably safe now."
Alex said, taking the initiative to continue walking.
"Good grief, how troublesome."
Luke sighed and followed behind.
Just then, a loud screech along with the sound of rumbling reached their ears.