Balthazar was confused a bit regarding the sudden change in Winston but he knew that the being the Patriarch he had to deal with many things. As Winston had already managed to inform him that Arthur was going help and that their trial was still going to happen, he was sure that it wouldn't be related to him in any way.
"If it was related to the knights or Nirbaadh pirates, he would most probably ask me to stay indoors and put me in house arrest," thought Balthazar as he made way to the dining hall. He had already asked Robert to meet him there. Robert was also at his room wearing the helmet.
He was actually training with Lucius using the somnium headgear. Lucius gave them the evening off, so that they could rest and be ready for the trial the next day. But knowing that Balthazar gifted both Salazar and Lucius somnium headgear, he had already asked them to help him practice with use of somnium technology. Seeing that it is a good way to spend more time on the techniques of fighting for Robert, Lucius also agreed to it.
Robert replied that he would be coming down in a few minutes and he had also request that Lucius join them. Balthazar was taken a few eggs, bacon with some vegetables and bread and found himself an empty table with place for Robert. A few minutes later, Robert arrived with Lucius and Richard and joined him at the table.
"You could have also joined the practice with Robert, right?" asked Lucius as soon as he sat down.
"Oh! I thought that we were all having a break and rest. You know that one needs to rest our minds too," said Balthazar. It was a clumsy excuse that none of the others believed as they knew that Balthazar had been playing the game vita-nove. Robert specifically told Lucius and Richard, that Balthazar could be considered a minor celebrity in the gaming world too and that he had defeated a star player.
"Yes, I heard how well you were resting in the game," said Lucius grinning.
"It is quite relaxing to stay there killing those monsters. The weather and the trees, it all feels so good as if we are at a natural place," said Balthazar as he didn't want to give up. If he agreed, he was sure that Lucius would try to increase his training with use of somnium technology. Balthazar sent the headgear for his own considerations and didn't want Lucius to have an upper hand.
"You should definitely try it. You will enjoy it," he continued as he bit into the bacon.
"Though he is just making an excuse. He is right. It is really relaxing and feels good," added Robert. He felt a bit bad that his wishes caused trouble for his cousin who had actually bought the headgear for his mentors and suggested training in the first place.
"What excuse? I was the one who sent them the headgear for training purposes. I need no excuses," said Balthazar making use of the Robert's words.
"Fine. Fine. It is all right, but I want you to join me in the V.R. after the trial. I think you will have faster progress in V.R. with your skills," said Lucius. "But mornings are going to be physical. No tech can change that."
"Of course, not. We need to get our body used to the skills too. No use just practicing in V.R. without being able to check it physically," said Balthazar agreeing with Lucius.
"I heard from Elias, that they could also make not of your physique and simulate your stamina, perspiration, etc. So, you might not necessarily be sure that you need physical training," added in Richard.
"You can't have it simulate everything perfectly. At the end, it is a code based on a few assumptions. It is best we always practice physically too and it is good to have physical exercise," said Balthazar.
"Took the words from my mouth," compliment Lucius. "By the way, Richard and I are accompanying you to the planet. We might have a few others on the plane," he added.
"Ahem, ahem," coughed Balthazar as he almost choked on his food when he heard this. "Are you going to train us on the plane," asked Balthazar. He was afraid that if Lucius would try and train him on V.R. but he needed to talk to Arthur during the ride.
"No such intentions. We are coming to provide security, just in case of an attack. After the incident with Max, we are just a bit more careful," said Lucius.
"Oh. Did anything happen?" asked Balthazar as doubts began to creep in his mind. Winston had abruptly sent him off his office which fount to be somewhat odd. With the sudden addition of Lucius and Richard, he felt that something might have happened.
"Nothing happened. What do you mean?" Lucius asked Balthazar.
"I thought we were going to be taken to the planet by some unknown personal and didn't expect you two for security," said Balthazar trying to pry out more.
"Ah! Well, since Robert almost died, Richard and I were assigned to have look out for anyone around the place. We didn't tell you before this as there were some people concerned that you might bribe us. Still we need to wear a camera and keep sending live feed to the others," said Lucius. "So, we obviously can't help you unless another human or ape is seen on the planet."
"Maybe they are just protective of Robert. He had plans to attempt trial for some time and Richard was definitely his bodyguard and Lucius was asked to specifically train him. It is a reasonable assumption. It is better, if I don't wast much time on this," thought Balthazar.
After that their conversation went on. Lucius mostly talked about training and that they better learn using weapons well, if they plan to compete for an elder position. Richard also seemed to have the same idea. Most of their conversation went around training Robert as he was the one with the intention to compete for the post of an elder and they both were adamant on one thing - Robert needs to learn to defend himself by hook or crook, if he becomes an elder. It was true. Once, an elder, he would have more responsibilities and would need to venture out of the safety of Asklepian.
Finishing their meal, the others returned to their rooms and suggested that they get to the hall by 10 p.m sharp. Lucius offered to check and get their equipment to the ship in time and Richard was going to accompany Robert and Balthazar from their rooms to the ship. Richard clearly didn't want to take any chances.
Balthazar went back to his room and began to unpack the headgear that he had received from the mail. He put a chair beside the pod, connected the headgear to internet and power and put it on. The system check up immediately started the usual scans and logged into his account. He checked if the bank details and other features are all proper and working before logging on to the game.
He immediately logged into the game to check that too. He was appeared in the teleportation point of the White Heart City. He had about one hour or real-life time which translated to three hours. He didn't really need to pack anything for the trial other than the somnium headgear which he planned to use on the plane.
He didn't want to get out of the city and try out killing monsters to see if there were any differences that he could feel. The difference is mainly due to the consumption of energy and electrolytes by the players. If the player is well hydrated and fed, the headgear and pod wouldn't have much difference. He had a better way to check it out. Forging and other secondary occupations also needed fine control of actions by players. So, it was also a good way to check the control that he had with it.
He first decided to meet up with Merlin and talk about the engineer, Earthly Researcher that Rudra had found. Merlin invited him to the Whitewater tavern in the White Heart City to talk about it with Grenadier Mage.
This tavern in the city was more or less the same as the other one they had been in. The main difference that one could notice was that there was a musical troupe of NPCs and even a dance floor. It was much more entertaining than the other tavern and Shadow had remembered this much better. Merlin was already occupying a table and waiting for him and Grenadier to come.
"Sit down and have a drink," said Merlin pushing a mug of white colored drink towards him. Balthazar immediately realized that it was one of the specialties of the White Heart City. The tavern was also named after it. Merlin seemed to have found a liking for it and there were already three empty mugs in front of him.
"This Whitewater is just delicious, frothy, tastes like freshly squeezed apples but is so strong and makes you tipsy within seconds," said Merlin as he had another big gulp of the drink.
"I know. I heard it is one of the unique items of the city. You don't find it anywhere else at the same cost," said Shadow as he partook it. "Sadly, both the taste and feel disappear within a minute however much you try to remember it."
"What?" asked Merlin. He had just heard of it from the bar maid NPC a few minutes ago and had been consuming it non-stop. He wanted to stop for a minute and check it out, but had another gulp of it immediately.
"Yes. Some players were cursing it because of that," said Shadow.
"Well, there is a simple solution. Don't stop drinking," said Merlin.
"It is a good drink to start with though," said Shadow gulping down the drink in his mug. "Is Grenadier coming?"
"Yeah, he is on his way. I just asked you to come early for some company all the other are busy working on their secondary profession. I have already got as much alchemy and cooking profession that I can with the recipes that I have. So, here I am," he said.
"You could have tried to get to the city library or the temple. They offer good quests and you could even access quite a few books in there," suggested Balthazar.
"Ya. I have been to both. Already have a collection quest for the temple and the library doesn't allow third-class citizens to most areas. Only have access to the first shelf were all the books were about the twelve lords, the different kingdoms and empires and the like which everyone could get easily from reading the forums on the first day," said Merlin.
"Couldn't even access the maps or the history of the kingdom. Need second-class citizenship to even check the smallest of the maps. Those might at least help with some quests and gathering work," said Merlin. He was clearly disappointed by the fact that he wasn't allowed much access to library. Libraries and the like were the best sources of information for players. Having a third-class citizenship which less than 0.1% of the players had currently, Merlin thought he would have an advantage at this, but the system was far too strict.
Shadow had already known it. Unless one had special permission, one couldn't access decent maps of the interior of the city till they became a first-class citizen. Even a second class citizen would only be able to access maps of the outer region and surrounding areas. As he was thinking of the maps he realized that he forgot to inform Rudra of the Jarko Town.
It was a level 15 to level 20 area and the location of the mine was definitely a level 20 area. Though it would take some time for the players to expand to it, he wanted the guild to form a strong supply route to it. The mithril ore mined needs to be transported to other towns and cities to make best use of it.
He couldn't rely on everyone in the guild to be completely loyal to it. Even super guilds would get tempted by the information of a mithril mine. Trusting all members of his guild or mining openly were simply impractical options.
So, letting a select few to mine and know about it while using trade carts and caravans was the best option. For those to go unnoticed, it is best if they keep making a strong trade routes between each town that they go to. It is also good for the growth of a guild if they had a decent infrastructure for trade between towns and cities. Moreover, the Black wall fort was also in the same direction. So, he decided that it is best to have the infrastructure for it.
"Need to find designs for transport caravans and the like. I also better send the map to Jarko Town to Rudra," thought Balthazar as sent the images of the map that he took along with instructions to find designs for transport carts or caravans and decent beast tamers for dragging them. He also told Rudra to keep this among the trusted players who had already signed the strictest contracts.
"Find a few players who are have tradesman secondary profession or it is best if you have someone capable like lizzie do it. They will be quite useful in negotiating and also will be helpful to manage shops. NPCs can be purchased to manage shops and trader profession would be quite useful for negotiating with them," messaged Shadow.
"Trader profession. Right. I will look into it," said Rudra. Trader was relatively less popular profession and most players wouldn't even try to know about it. It is only useful when dealing with other merchant NPCs and it one of the new unique things in vita-nova. Without NPCs who have their own A.I. and act for their own interests, it is makes no point in having a trader profession. Hardly any player would even know of its existence currently unless they thoroughly went through the introductions of the game. Even then most wouldn't care about it and cultivate it as it would only be useful in rare cases.
"Ok. I understand that trader profession would take time. So, keep your focus on gathering the caravan designs. Engineer designs. Lastly make sure that the guild progresses along the direction to Jarko Town. It would help us a lot in long term," messaged Shadow.