"Huh...? Where am I...?"
The light blinded me. I raised my hand instinctively, hoping that annoying flash would stop.
[New area unlocked: Capitol]
Capitol...? Shin had mentioned something about that.
Finally, I could see.
And I was left breathless.
Marble columns rose like silent giants, reflecting light like water mirrors. A scarlet carpet stretched between them, bordered with golden reliefs. Stained glass windows cast liquid colors across the walls, as if they had tamed the sun itself.
Above, chandeliers floated without explanation, glowing with pure light.
It was... breathtaking.
I turned toward my friends. They all had their mouths hanging open.
All except Shin.
He stared ahead with determination, ignoring the beauty surrounding us.
"Esteemed governor and ministers—" Shin knelt dramatically, placing his hand on his chest. "—my name is Shin. I present myself before you to join your sentinel troops."
I couldn't help it. I laughed.
"Have you lost your mind or what?"
His eyes glared at me.
"I also have the same purpose. My name is Juno."
"Mine is Griffin."
"I'm Leander."
"My name is Astrid, and I wish to become a sentinel."
One by one, they all knelt just like Shin.
"What's wrong with all of you?" I looked at them confused. "Is it because of... them?"
I pointed toward the massive altar. An imposing man watched us from there, surrounded by others on smaller platforms. All with stone-cold faces.
"What kind of disrespect is this?!" shouted one of the men. "Don't you know where you are?!"
The man at the altar fixed his gaze on me.
"Bow before my presence. Now."
His voice was pure ice.
"Bow? But I don't even know y— Ow!"
Shin yanked me to the ground.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Just do what he says," he murmured.
"Why?"
"He's the supreme authority in Eldralid."
"It looks stupid to do that."
Shin seemed hurt by my comment.
"It's called 'roleplaying.' Do it if you don't want to ruin the experience."
I sighed. "Fine... I present myself, I'm Cassius and I wish to become a sentinel."
My introduction was pathetic.
"I'll accept it." The governor sounded irritated. "Though I've never seen such disrespect from a novice."
"Now then, important heroes—" he gestured to one side "—you're lucky: Elric of the Hawthorne family is present with me."
A tall, elegant man stepped forward. His presence filled the room.
"Hey, Shin," I whispered. "Who's that?"
"The current leader of the Hawthornes. The most powerful man in Eldralid."
"And why is he here?"
"Governor," Shin interrupted, raising his voice, "what happened to the other leaders? I thought we could meet them."
The governor sighed heavily.
"I'll explain," Elric interrupted. His voice resonated through the hall. "Today an extremely dangerous event occurred. We have a calamity-level threat: multiple portals to the underworld opened throughout Eldralid."
"Calamity-level... threat?" Shin paled.
"Then we arrived just in time," Juno said hopefully.
"We'll give our best," Griffin added confidently.
Elric shook his head. "Your attitude is admirable, heroes, but you're far from facing that threat. You're novices."
"So... you're not that strong, are you?"
The question slipped out before I could stop it. My friends looked at me horrified.
"Please excuse him, Lord Elric!"
"He's just a fool!"
"He didn't mean any disrespect!"
They all spoke at once, panic in their voices.
"No problem," Elric raised a hand. "To answer your question: I am the most powerful man in Eldralid. I'm here to protect the governor."
Wow... Shin was right.
"Come with me. I'll take you to the sentinels' room."
The capitol's corridors seemed endless. Servants and guards stopped to stare at us as we passed.
"It's here."
Elric stopped in front of an ornate door.
We entered and found five people: four boys and a girl. Next to them was another girl who had apparently just placed devices on their wrists.
"Ah, yes... I forgot to mention. They arrived before you," Elric said casually.
Are they players too? But Shin said this game was abandoned...
"Roxanne, they're also heroes. Go get more bracelets."
"But... I just finished with them..."
"Do it."
"Alright..."
The girl walked past me, clearly exhausted.
And then I really saw her.
Something familiar hit me like lightning. Her beauty was notable, but there was something more. As if I knew her from before...
Impossible. She's just an NPC.
"I'll leave you alone to get to know each other."
Elric closed the door behind him.
"Guys!" Leander pounced on one of the newcomers in a hug.
"You know them?" Shin asked.
"Of course! They're my friends."
"Great," Shin smiled. But then he frowned. "Though... how did you finish the introductory mission before us?"
"Easy! It didn't take us more than 10 minutes," one of them replied.
"It took us much longer..." Astrid murmured while looking at me judgmentally.
"That's because they don't have a Cassius on their team! Hahaha," Leander mocked.
"Well... how about we introduce ourselves?" suggested Leander's friend. "I'm Edward, and they are Luck, Ludwig, Gary, and Teresa."
"So he's the famous Cassius?" Edward observed me.
I avoided eye contact. I didn't feel like having someone else mock me.
"How about we make a party?" Shin asked.
"That's a great idea!"
[Shin's party request]
[Accept/Decline]
I pressed accept.
[Shin's Party]
[Members:]
Shin (leader) — Level 3 — Warrior
Juno — Level 4 — Archer
Astrid — Level 3 — Warrior
Leander — Level 3 — Lancer
Griffin — Level 3 — Berserker
Edward — Level 3 — Fighter
Luck — Level 3 — Hunter
Ludwig — Level 3 — Berserker
Gary — Level 3 — Warrior
Teresa — Level 3 — Lancer
Cassius — Level 2 — Rogue
Why am I the only one with the lowest level...?
"Look at that, Juno. You have a higher level than all of us," Shin pointed out.
"I was just killing a lot of slimes at the beginning..."
"We should give Cassius a prize for being the only one at level 2. Hahaha!"
Leander didn't waste time mocking.
"It must be very difficult being a rogue. Your defense is very low and you have a reduced attack range... I admire you for using that class," Edward said sincerely.
"Thanks..."
Edward didn't seem as mocking as Leander. I might even grow to like him.
"So what should we do first? Because I'm really starting to get bored," Teresa mentioned.
"Well, in my opinion we should..."
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Edward was interrupted by knocks at the door.
"I'll get it..." I offered, since I was closest.
When I opened it, it was that girl, Roxanne.
"Excuse me... I'm coming in."
"Sure... Go ahead."
Roxanne entered with a bag and put a bracelet on each of us.
"Ouch! It's too tight. What's this supposed to be for?" Astrid asked, but Roxanne said nothing.
"Hey! Can't you hear me? I'm talking to you!"
Astrid yelled at her, clearly angry.
"Come on, just wear it, it's not a big deal," Teresa said to her.
"Excuse me? I don't remember asking for your opinion."
"Just wear the damn bracelet and don't ask questions. We have one too."
"If I don't want to wear it, that's my decision."
Both were confronting each other.
"Come on girls, don't fight," Luck tried to calm the atmosphere.
"These are mandatory devices that sentinels must wear..." Roxanne responded.
"But you don't have one..." Astrid observed.
"That's because I'm not a..."
"That guy, Elric, wasn't wearing one either."
Hearing that, Roxanne didn't seem to know what to say.
"That's enough... She's just following orders," I said trying to help her. "By the way... Thanks for this."
At that, she just looked at me.
"Are you already trying to hit on a new girl, Cassius? Seems like you don't like Juno anymore..." Leander approached while bumping my shoulder.
"That's not true! Shut up!"
"I'm not looking for anything romantic..." Roxanne was firm in her response. "Besides, I just met you and there's no way someone like you would be among my interests."
"Huh...? B-but... I never had those intentions!"
"Ha! You're also accumulating rejections! That's too funny!"
BOOOOOOM!
"What was that? It sounded too close," Juno asked.
Meanwhile, Roxanne put her fingers to her ear to listen to what was apparently a message.
"What...? One appeared near the capitol? But that shouldn't be able to happen!" Roxanne continued listening. "What are you saying?! That there's also a risk of one appearing inside the capitol?! But father, you yourself said it was impossible..."
"AAAAHHHHH!"
Screams of terror and panic suddenly appeared.
"Oh no..." Roxanne murmured.
"What's happening?" Juno asked.
But Roxanne just made a worried expression and ran off.
"Hey, wait!" Juno tried to stop her, but it was useless.
"What's her problem?" Juno said.
"She's a very strange girl..." Astrid affirmed.
"It's easy to deduce what's happening. Most likely a portal has appeared in the capitol," Shin was certain.
"A portal? One of those where monsters emerge?" Juno asked.
"Exactly."
"But you said the capitol had anti-portal protection."
"Yes... but we can't forget what Elric mentioned. A true calamity is happening out there."
"What really impresses me is that an abandoned MMO videogame still has this kind of events. It's very strange, don't you think?" I said.
"You're right... But still, it benefits us. We might have even arrived at the exact moment..." Shin paused and gripped the handle of his sword. "What do you say? Are you ready to kill some monsters and level up?"
Everyone nodded and put their hands on their weapons.
"Excellent. What about you guys?" Shin asked Edward's group.
"Please... There's no need to even ask. We were already getting bored waiting for some fun."
"I like that answer..." Shin smiled. "Let the action begin then."