"Old man?!" Rastel turned around to see Oron and Mary standing by the gate with horrified players all around them.
Mary was still holding the pose of unleashing the spell as she took a side glance at the players still staring. They flinched as they all took steps away from the duo. Oron on the other hand was smiling as stood in front waving at them
"It can't be! Bloody Mary! It's really bloody Mary!"
"What? Bloody Mary!?"
"That's really her?"
"You guys let's run! She's a ranker! And a top one too!"
The players all around scattered like weeds blown by the wind as they ran into the village to presumably hide.
'Bloody Mary?' Rastel felt interested. He never knew Mary was a ranker and a famous one at that.
He let Myra down as they leisurely jogged to the gates, the danger was over so they both felt relaxed, although Myra still clutched his hands tightly as they moved.
"Mary you don't know how wonderful it feels to see you now, really!" Rastel smiled as he approached them.
She smiled back at him before taking a step to Oron's side.
"Boyyo what are you doing taking naps in the middle of the forest for? We were just about to go get you when we saw these lively people getting up to some suspicious things" Oron smiled at him
"I know right? No regards for others at all!" Rastel shook his head disapprovingly as he looked at the players sprawled by the attack.
"I was just trying to catch up on some lost sleep. You know they say sleeping in VR is dreamless. It seemed very tempting to me, very peaceful" he added this time nodding his head.
"I know what you mean boyyo, my old bones get to me at times and I crave having a peaceful nap too. It is a shame some people can't understand someone's pure intentions" Oron shook his head too pitifully.
"Really a shame. Old man, it is nice to have someone who understands. It really is true what they say about friendship, there is no barrier of any sort that can obstruct two like souls" Rastel looked at Oron with grateful eyes like he had just found his long lost brother.
Oron laughed out loud at the statement as they brought their little exchange to an end. Mary led the way as they entered into the village under the wary gazes of the terrified players. Even though they didn't dare attack because of Mary's presence, they still had to keep track of their movements.
The party of four ignored them as they moved through the somewhat now lively streets of Laron. The villagers had returned and were now trying to put everything back together.
Rastel used this opportunity to report to Oron all that he encountered in the dungeon, that was the only request that he had made of him for giving him the scroll. Oron listened quietly and showed amusement at some parts especially when Rastel told him the contents of the letter.
"What is an immortal anyway?" Rastel was actually curious. There was no solid info on immortals anywhere he checked on the forums and the internet. All that players knew came from rumors or folklore and children tales. It was like they were myths that didn't seem to exist.
Oron smiled at the question as he paused for a while before replying him.
"Immortals can be regarded as the peak existences in this world. They are the highest level one can train to attain, although they are never seen and most people have come to regard them as myth. There are a lot of stories and lore about powerful people in history rumored to be immortals though. If what the letter said is true and you are actually an immortal's successor, then your future prospects are unimaginable. Who knows? Maybe you may become an immortal too?" Oron gave him his views on the matter.
"Immortals" Rastel repeated the word as he fell into thought. A power considered myth by many, he wasn't sure if he dared to dream to attain this power but if he found out that it was achievable then…"
Oron then proceeded to tell him about how he was helping the villagers get rid of the syndicate and how they had asked to help retrieve rastel from the forest when the met with him just recently.
"Why didn't they just bring me back then?" Rastel was puzzled.
"They said your golem was very possessive, it only allowed the little girl near you because she healed you" Oron was also at a loss.
"Hmm…. Amba beat up the villains. Then he stood over you to protect you" Myra piqued in as she skipped along them.
Amba beat up the assassin too? A level 28 assassin!? Rastel started to re-evaluate Amba's strength and his own power level. If Amba was capable of such feats didn't that mean he had nothing to fear from mid-level players? At most he should be able to face off against a level 30 without being in danger.
'Wasn't Natsu at level 30? And he is really badass in game. Does that mean I'm now badass too?' Rastel now started seeing the advantage of his unique class.
Before he thought that all he had for now were his golems and he would have to be creative to increase his strength. But it turned out just Amba alone was a huge cheat in his armory.
'Am I not basically a cheat now? Who has ever heard of a level 10 having the firepower of a level 30?' he thought happily as they continued to move.
Very soon, they reached the village inn and entered the door. Inside the inn were the men they fought with yesterday including Marilyn, the old man, the village chief and his son and even Gai and his team. They all turned around to look at them as they entered the inn.
"Well that was fast!" Marilyn looked surprised.
"We picked them up at the gate. They were about to be rushed though, Mary here took care of it" Oron patted Mary on her head and she smiled.
Marilyn approached Rastel and Myra with a stern look as she chastised the little girl.
"Why did you run away like that yesterday? You almost gave me a heart attack! What if they got their hands on you?" she lectured her.
"I'm sorry…." Myra seemed teary eyed as she gripped Rastel's arm with both hands and tried to hide behind him. Gai on the other hand approached Rastel with an interested look with Ann and Marco following behind.
"Your golem saved our lives yesterday, that's the second time now you saved us. We will remember this" he said solemnly as he extended his hand.
Rastel shook it with his free hand. "It was nothing, I almost died and didn't really have control over the whole situation either". He said embarrassingly.
"But dude where did you get your hands on a golem that powerful? It grabbed the assassin and smashed him to death like it was nothing. It was really gruesome, but it was very cool though. Everyone was shocked!" Marco seemed more enthusiastic about it than the rest as he shook his hands vigorously.
Ann just expressed her thanks and smiled at him. They all exchanged contacts and Gai, Marco and Ann became his first friends since he started the game.
After that Gai looked at the old man in the room and nodded. The man was sitting silently by the side without saying a word all this while. When he saw Gai's signal, he stood up and walked slowly to their side.
Oron glanced at the man and the man looked back. They both nodded at each other before the man walked slowly and led Gai and his team out of the inn.
By this time, Marilyn had finished chastising Myra and now turned her attention to Rastel.
"Thank you for accepting our request Rastel, we will be forever grateful for your help in freeing our village from our oppressors" she gave him a little bow.
She then took out a small purse from her large dress filled with circular pieces made from some metal with seven tiny holes around the perimeter.
"Your reward as promised 2000 kryts" she handed him the bag of kryts and he accepted it with both hands.
At this point, he heard dings from a bunch of notifications coming in.
DING!
MISSION COMPLETE!
The villager's dilemma – Rank C
Reward: 1000 exp, 2000 kryts.
Extra bonus!
Assist the villagers – Rank C
Reward: 700exp
DING!
LEVEL UP!