Birgime was the nearest town in the boundaries of the Lesser Plains and the Greater Plains, acting as a sort of division between novices and mainstream digitizers. It was a fairly wide area with a broad river flowing between its center, traveling towards more distant mountainous grounds.
Looking at it from a glance, one would see a towering wall and a wooden gate that was wide open, filled with many different people who were entering and leaving. A majority of them were of nonhuman race, while others came from humanity.
Those who came here were at the very least at Level 5, and each had already mastered a low-grade combat technique, only a few of them had grasp those of the middle grade arriving at the fourth stage, giving them a low standing on the Rising Talent Ranking Lists.
As such, the person who roamed here was powerful, especially showing the apparent gap between the village's standards and a town.
Beyond this sight, many different buildings were laid neatly above a ground paved with stone as some of them shone with strange lights. A giant magic circle, much like that found in Winfrey Village, was engraved at its central square.
Now and then, people would arrive from it, and leave by it towards more distant reaches and major cities. Naturally, the very few who could do so we're on an entirely different level, be it their equipment, presence or appearance.
At this time, at the town entrance, a silver-haired youth in a furry robe had appeared from the distant region of towering bamboo shoots. His appearance seemed somewhat haggard as if he had been through a hellish journey, but if one looked at his eyes, they would notice they were shining with spirit as a smile was on his face.
"I finally made it, and right on time..." Nero said while checking the timer on his system; there, he saw that it was 3:50 pm.
'Hmm, I should go check to see if he's over at the arena now, or waiting somewhere else," Nero thought, having made up a goal in mind.
He then promptly began to make his way through the crowded streets, bypassing strange-looking humanoids that had bulky muscles, with a few having heads of odd creatures.
'Are these the stronger races of the Novice Zone?' Nero inwardly asked his older self while walking and looking around him with curious eyes.
Adult Nero promptly replied, "Yes, and no, they are fairly decent beings at the lower level amongst the alien kind. Those at the farther ranks are far more powerful and dangerous to our kind..."
Nero narrowed his eyes at those words; he questioned, "Dangerous to our kind? How so?"
Adult Nero remained silent for a moment as his eyes showed a recollective look, but he soon cleared it away and replied, "You'll come to know in time, for now, don't ponder such affairs."
Nero sighed at this; he thought, 'It seems like I can only wait for now.'
While Nero said this, he had unknowingly arrived at his target destination. Here, was a massive round-shaped building, built in a manner much like that of a colosseum. The sounds of fighting echoed as one could even hear bones breaking and people screaming.
Nero felt a chill just by standing on the outside as if he could feel a savage bloodlust from behind its walls. Yet, it was only a chill; he didn't feel the urge to run away or cower in fear. Instead, Nero's eyes flickered in a reddish light as he felt a slight tinge of excitement.
Not wasting a single moment, Nero hurried to enter its domain, passing through its corridors at a brisk pace. While walking, he saw a few metallic armors arranged at the side, along with tablets that had old markings.
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[Record of Heroes]
[First place: Name: Dark Reaper, Level: 9, Occupation: Assassin]
[Second place: Name: Diamond Hands, Level: 9, Occupation: Mage]
[Third place: Name: Mage Crusher, Level: 9, Occupation: Warrior]
____
'What are these?' Nero asked his older self while walking past a few more similar texts.
"It's as its name implied, a record of the best novices within a given period. They have all grown and advanced from this zone years ago. By now, they would all, or rather some of them should be considered as true experts across these vast lands," Adult Nero replied as his eyes fixed onto the board, his face showed a sophisticated look as if thinking about something.
Nero didn't say anything more, pushing those names into the back of his mind as he continued forward. Soon, he had left the corridor and arrived at the recreation hall.
Beyond this area and the scene of natives garbed in uniform behind counters, as well as different novices that were chatting and laughing, was the audience stand that surrounded a series of broad arenas.
Some of these arenas were shrouded by an unknown power, hiding all scenes from within it, but most of the other stages were quite open with people fighting against each other or strange beasts.
Nero looked around curiously while thinking, 'It's a lot broader than I'd thought, now it looks as if I might need a while to find that fellow.'
Nero was feeling a bit annoyed, but right at this moment, a familiar voice sounded from behind him.
"Eh? Nero, so you've finally made it here, why didn't you send me a message?" Avollo said as he walked over from a nearby corner.
Nero looked at him with a look that seemed to be trying to hide his embarrassment as he thought to himself, 'How could I dare to let you come and pick me up at the gate of the town? Hmph! A man should have his pride...'
After fixing his thoughts, Nero spoke with a smile, "Well, I was in a bit of a rush, I came here without thinking, it's a good thing you found me."
Avollo looked at his expression with a suspicious look, but Nero took this moment to change the topic, "Oh yea, how was your attempt to raise your rankings? Did you climb again?"
Avollo looked at Nero and replied with a weak expression, "It was wishful thinking on my part, I guess, even though I've had a great increase in strength, it looks as if my competitors had increased at a similar standard."
Nero, hearing this shook his head, he looked at him and asked something that was on his mind, "Oh, by the way, what's your Ranking Position? I can't tell as I don't know your Title."
Avollo, hearing this smirked as he replied mysteriously, "Haha, I'll tell you only if you can fight me to an acceptable standard, Silver Boy."
Nero's face turned ugly when he heard that; he snorted and replied, "Hmph! I'm not so easy anymore, if you're thinking of treating me as a weakling, then you can forget it."
Avollo chuckled at this and spoke, "Huhu... sure, I can see that you're wearing some fine equipment. You've truly exceeded my expectations; it will be my honor to fight a rising talent such as yourself. Come now, let's go register for a friendly match."
Nero rolled his eyes at those words as he followed behind him, they soon arrived at the counter where the register was waiting, slender woman who spoke with a smile.
"Good evening Ranker, are you looking to try your hands once more in the Battle Room?" The woman said while looking at Avollo with a warm smile
Avollo then spoke, "I would like to have a friendly spar against this guy."
The woman then looked at Nero in surprise, from a single glance it was as if she could see through all of his details. She asked Avollo with a hint of hesitancy, "Esteemed Ranker, are you certain about this challenge?"
Nero didn't think such a hassle would occur; he looked at her with a strange look. Avollo smiled and replied, "I am certain. Also, I would like to use my real name in this match other than my Title. Now, if that's enough details, quickly sign us up time is going!"
The woman shook her head, giving Nero a look of pity before she waved her hand and spoke, "Understood, friendly match for Ranker Avollo against novice Nero confirmed!"
When the woman spoke, a blue light flashed over Nero and Avollo before getting the same notification.
Ding!
[You have received a combat token for Arena B, please proceed to the battle arena to begin your match!]
Nero looked at the shiny token in his hand with a hint of excitement; this will be his first official PVP match since he started. He turned and looked at Avollo with confidence, but he soon found that the easy-going and pleasant Avollo had changed, for, at this moment, he had a different aura.
His eyes seemed sharper, and his back looked straight like a sword ready to come out of its sheet. Nero was a bit startled by this change, he was about to say something, but Avollo turned and glanced at him with a grin on his face, and sharp eyes as he spoke in an icy tone, "Real men talk with their fists and swords, let's not waste any more time..."
The two moved on from this area, as Nero felt that this match wouldn't be as fun as he'd imagine.