The game consisted of multiple maps and vast continents, although, since most people were new to this world, their knowledge about the geography was lacking by a significant margin.
To the thousands of people panicking at the Summoning Ground, this was a terrifying, unknown wilderness.
However, Aron was a different case entirely. He had already played the game before, and his memory was his greatest weapon, a mental library of maps and secrets that no one else possessed.
The Country of Dynasty.
This was where Aron and several other players from Earth had arrived.
The large expanse of grass and trees where they woke up was called the Summoning Ground by the creators, being the designated location where most Level 1 players would arrive immediately after they logged into the game for the first time.
Of course, there were other regions with their own specific Summoning Grounds scattered across the game world, but as far as his knowledge of the game went, Dynasty had the biggest and most prosperous ground of them all.
In any case, the Country of Dynasty by itself hosted multiple cities, and each city served a different feature for the country's lasting survivability against the monsters that roamed the lands. Some were hubs of trade, while others were fortresses designed to hold back the tide of darkness. But that was not the main focus for Aron right now.
Along the outer lands of the closest city to the Summoning Ground, there was a small, dense forest known as the Forest of Death.
Eventually, this particular place would most likely become the most important hunting ground for players to level up once they got their bearings and realized they needed to grow stronger to survive.
That said, before that time came, there was something else that Aron knew he must have before anyone else got their hands on it.
It was so important that it remained the only thing on his mind, a singular goal that drowned out the confusion of his sudden displacement.
He knew better than to waste time questioning things that he would get no answers to right now.
Every second spent wondering why he was here was a second someone else could potentially stumble upon his prize.
Step.
He arrived at the front of the tree line. As expected, it was still as creepy and imposing as ever.
The trees were tall, stretching far into the sky like jagged fingers, their dense leaves shading the sun from touching the ground inside the forest and creating a permanent twilight beneath the canopy.
Upon getting to the vicinity, the game sent a notification, hinting that he had arrived at a new section of the map. Thankfully, he was probably the only one who knew of this place for now.
'I am honestly still surprised I was able to walk all the way here on my own two feet. It is surprising if you ask me. But what would be truly surprising is if I find what I am looking for here.'
Looking down at his legs once more to make sure they were not going to collapse on him, he gradually began to make his way into the gloom of the forest.
The sensation of grass crunching under his boots and the strength in his muscles was alien to him after years of atrophy, but he pushed the euphoria of being able to move aside to focus on the mission at hand.
For now, he knew there would be no monsters as of yet, since the activation time for each region was different from the next.
If he remembered correctly, monsters would spawn exactly two days after the arrival of a new player; in this case, they were the new players, and the clock was already ticking.
Not to mention the dungeons and zones that would appear as well once the world fully initialized. There was simply no time to be standing idly around waiting for the timer to tick down.
After what seemed like forever, constantly checking the map on his system to ensure he had not drifted off course, he finally arrived at the spot he was looking for.
'There you are.'
Before him stood a gigantic rock, covering a small cave entrance next to a stream of clear water running at the side. While the boulder looked big and immovable, it was designed to be movable if one knew the specific trick to trigger the mechanism.
But first, Aron looked at the ground for any sign of footprints, just to make sure no one else had come to this very location. The soil was undisturbed, showing only the natural patterns of the forest floor.
Once he was satisfied that he was alone, he moved forward and placed his hand on the cold surface of the rock.
[Would you like to move this rock?]
'Yes.'
He replied instantly in his mind,
[Request has been confirmed from Player 009, Aron Sieger.]
Moving his hand away, he stood still as the rock rolled to the side on its own accord and collapsed against the earth with a gentle thud that echoed through the quiet forest. Then, right there, inside the damp cave, he could see it.
An orange glowing chest sat in the center of the cave, illuminating the dark stone walls with a warm, flickering light.
[High-tier chest has been detected.]
A smile instantly etched itself onto his face at the sight of the item.
'I'll be damned. So it is here after all. If that is the case, then this is good. This forest will still hold its meaning.'
Yes.
Before he arrived in this world, when he was still acting as a beta tester for the anonymous game, Global Extraction, he would often communicate with the developer of the game via in-game chatting.
Because of this, any time he finished clearing a difficult zone, dungeon, or rift, the creator would guide him to a reward that would help make his gaming experience better.
One of those rewards was right inside this very chest, in this same location.
That alone made him wonder if the creator was behind the entire thing.
Would it not be logical to think the anonymous individual who created the game suddenly sent everyone into it? Then again, that would also require you to believe in something other than science and logic.
He gave a small sigh.
'I should not be worrying about such things. For now, surviving this shitty game is the most important thing.'
Aron took a couple of steps forward, entering the cool air of the cave, and then stretched his hand towards the loot.
He did not really need to touch it before the system understood what he wanted.
[Congratulations on obtaining the High-tier Chest loot.]
[All items in this chest have been extracted.]
[The Unique Skill: Extraction 100% has been obtained.]
[A 4x Skill Safebox has been obtained.]
[100,000 Credit Points have been obtained.]
Aron smiled at the messages flooding his vision.
[Extraction 100%: All loot obtained via extraction has a drop rate of 100% with no exception.]
[4x Skill Safebox: You have been granted 4 extra skill slots.]
'It is exactly as it was then. This was the first reward the creator gave me, and I would be lying through my teeth if I said it did not help me in the long run.'
Aron clenched his fist, feeling the weight of his new power, and then slowly began to walk away from the empty cave.
For some reason, he felt a bit of guilt, especially since he was fully aware of what would happen later on in the game to those who were unprepared.
The thought of telling the other players about it did cross his mind again, but just as generous as he wanted to be, he was also fully aware of the risks that followed such charity.
For instance, he would be used for their personal gain almost immediately. Humans tended to be entitled to things rather quickly, and he would in no way be an exception to that rule once they realized what he knew.
Not to mention, people would get the upper hand on him quickly, turning his knowledge into their own weapon. It was way too much of a burden to carry for total strangers who might stab him in the back later once he was no longer useful.
Which was why he had a plan to execute, but that could only be utilized once everyone had gotten to Level 7 and the chat feature was out for them to use. Or better still, if he got to Level 7 first and established his own position of power.
Moving on, Aron found a small rock to sit down on very close to the river to catch his breath.
The walk had been a long one for someone who had spent years in a bed, and he could feel the fatigue beginning to set in. Then, he began accessing his stats now that he had gotten the rare item he was looking for.
....
[Profile:
Name: Aron Sieger.
Level: 1.
Credit Points: 100,000.
Class: None.]
....
[Stats]
Strength: 1.
Magic: 5.
Agility: 0.
Vitality: 0.
Wisdom: 15.
Skill (S):
Unique Skill: Extraction 100%
(4 Slots Left.)
....
Staring at the screen, Aron noticed his Wisdom was the highest of his entire stats.
This proved to him that the stats varied individually based on which area the person excelled in before entering the game.
Given his history of analyzing the game and his mental fortitude during his long illness, it made perfect sense.
There was also the fact that, unlike traditional MMOs he had read about, this particular game differed when it came to leveling up and upgrading stats.
It was not as simple as killing a few boars and watching a bar go up. But that was something he was willing to think about later. For now, he needed to get his gear ready.
If he was going to take hold of the next phase without anyone's help, he needed to be prepared for the first real threat.