Kane has been looking at his blank laptop screen for almost 30 minutes. He had a total information overload.
Finally, he snapped out and opened his laptop.
"Okay, then. Let's calm down. Calm down. Let's see..."
Search: Bastion
Multiple articles immediately appeared about Bastion. Even the face images were accurate to the face that Kane met at Arcadia. Most of the articles deemed Bastion as the fastest man alive in the history of Arcadia. But he has been gone for 10 years.
'Mamamia, so it's real?!?! He's a real person that was missing?'
Kane searched for more information and eventually reached his biography. His eyes opened wide upon scrolling down to a shocking section.
Bastion
Died: May 2060
Cause of Death: Suicide
Kane, in distress, started chewing his fingers.
"You got to be kidding me. I just played with ghosts!!"
But Kane couldn't help but be bothered by the cause of death.
"Hmmm, if what they're saying was true, then there's really something shady that was happening here."
Kane suddenly felt the chills in his bones.
"Ugh! Grrrrrrrr…"
Kane closed his laptop upon realizing the shit that he just found out. Kane looked on his phone and saw his current balance.
[CURRENT BALANCE – 50,454 GAK DOLLARS]
'So, I gained another 20k for all the things that I achieved despite not leveling up. Ugh... I need to take a break.'
Kane stood up and opened his fridge. He took out one of the last three expired food sets that he stored. He placed it on his table and removed the cover. He took his spoon, put rice in it, and shoved it to his mouth. But he suddenly stopped midway.
He paused for a few seconds before throwing the spoon back to his plate along with the food on it. Kane stood up and left his apartment.
He continued walking away until he reached an establishment. It was a restaurant. He took a deep breath, and then he entered the tangerine-painted shop.
"Welcome to M-Road Chicken! How may I help you?"
"What's your most expensive set?"
"It's set D."
"I'll take it."
He sat down on his table along with the set D that he took. It was a set composed of a Chicken, a Rice, some nuggets, bits of corn, and a cup of gravy.
The food was just right in front of him. But he wasn't moving. He had both the spoon and the fork in his hands, but he couldn't move it. Instead, he took his time looking at the delicate food right in front of him.
Finally, he took a deep breath, then shoved a spoonful of rice in his mouth. He pinned a nugget with his fork and bit it. Unknowingly, tears had been dropping from his face. It was probably the tastiest food that he ever tasted in the past few years.
It was at this moment that Kane finally realized that he was never okay. He was just surviving and not living. For the first time ever, he cried.
"Damn it. Why did this happen to me? I was the strongest person ever! I was always protecting the weak! Why did this happen to me?! Why is this my payment to my good deeds!!"
That was the story of Kane. During this time, he was an unemployed expelled student. But many years ago, he was the legendary Kane who swept sports tournaments and reigned as one of the smartest students in the whole school. But none of those mattered when you hit rock bottom.
Some people saw the crying Kane while eating his food. But just as usual, they just ignored him. After finishing his decent meal, he quietly left and walked back to his apartment.
Along the way, Kane paused. He looked at the sky and suddenly shouted.
"Prepare yourselves, rich motherfuckers!! I'm coming for you! I won't lose this time around! Watch me from above, Josh."
From then on, Kane's gaze has changed.
He went back to his apartment and entered Arcadia.
'If I'm planning to be the strongest predator in this game, I needed to play this game seriously. For that, I need to go back to the very start. The Herald City.'
[Welcome back, Kane250]
[No waypoints were found from the area that you died.]
[You will respawn at the nearest recorded waypoint from that area.]
[Welcome to Miranda Kingdom Port.]
HONK! HONK! HONK!
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Kane suddenly spawned in the middle of a busy street. Unlike that Herald City, which gave off the vibes of a rural city, Miranda Kingdom Port was a little bit industrial.
There massive ships that were landing on the beach. There were a lot of carriages that were being pulled by horses. Kane also spotted some cars that were powered by charcoal engines.
But what caught Kane's eyes was the massive grey brick walls of Miranda Kingdom. They were too high that even if Kane would place the three biggest ships in the port on top of each other, the walls will still be higher.
But this was the start of his series of problems.
'Damn it. So, basically, I lost everything, including the Rabaum's Collar. Damn, that was a good item.'
Kane started to walk away from the place that he spawned as people started staring at him.
'What the hell is this? Again? Even in this place, people recognized me?'
He already walked for a few minutes, but everywhere he went, people were staring at him. Finally, he passed a mirror.
'Shieeetttttt!'
Because he lost all of his items after his death, he realized that he was half-naked. If a player died in Arcadia, they would respawn without any items except for a default set of level 1 underwear.
'But what's with this stickman, body?'
But being naked wasn't the reason why Kane cursed. He was mad because his character doesn't have any abs or muscles, unlike in real life.
The character creation in Arcadia entirely relied on the VR Capsule as it scanned the player's entire body. In the cases in which a player was not using a VR Capsule, the features of their characters will only be based on their faces in their credits cards and ID pictures.
As for Kane, his face was created from his employment ID. His height came from the calculated height that the VR set computed. However, for the rest of his body, it was set to default.
'Damn it. I'll buy that VR Capsule real quick!'
[Inventory]
Ripped Underwear
'Ah, shit. This bullshit napkin again?'
Kane quickly ran back to the waypoint to access his personal storage box. But while going back, he saw painter painting the different mythical beings in Arcadia. One of them was Nethalion. But he was depicted as a hideous creature with a horrific stature.
Nethalion was dark-skinned and was filled with scales. However, his appearance was not horrifying.
"I guess these people don't know anything at all."
The painter that was sitting on the floor heard him.
"Why? Have you met him? Have you met Nethalion?!"
"Yeah, I did. This is fake news."
Suddenly, the painter stood up and faced Kane.
"Really?! What level are you? And why are you naked? Were you killed by him?"
"Uhhh, yeah, I did."
"Show me your information box, then."
"Why would I show you my information box?"
"Show me your level and the title you received from fighting him. Come on! Show it to me!"
Kane was nervous at first because a lot of people started surrounding them. But he remembered that he still has the title about escaping a deity. He raised his hand and was about to show his textbox.
'Wait a minute. This is dangerous. What if the people who killed Bastion and his friends will find me... what should I do...'
Kane snapped his fingers and showed only a portion of his textbox.
Kane250 LVL 5 [150/150]
"Buhahahahahahahahah!!"
"LMAO, this guy!!"
"He's naked. Maybe this is the first time he actually used his account from his pilot."
"HUEHUEHUEUHEU!!"
People starting mocking Kane upon seeing his level. The painter was annoyed. He went back to his chair while waving at Kane to piss off.
"Get out! Stop wasting my time, you fucking boosted!"
A boosted player was a term that people used to call a player who was leveled up by a professional instead of themselves. These professionals were called Smurfs and were often for hire. This was supposed to be illegal, and it could lead to the arrest of both the Smurf and the original owner of the account.
Arcanos already did a lot of security methods to prevent this from happening. However, there were still some players who managed to find a way to pilot some accounts.
'It's embarrassing, but at least I managed to leave that situation unharmed. This is really a high-leveled Kingdom. I really need to go back.'
Kane ignored the spectators and continued walking away while being mocked by everyone. This was nothing new to him. He was being mocked for the past few years already in real life. Kane was just casually walking away while sorting out his acquired titles.
'Oh, I didn't know these had effects.'
[Fastest traveler on Arcadia]
Effect: passively increases movement speed by 50%
[The One who survived a battle against an Undefeatable Deity]
Effect: Damage from all sources is reduced by 10%
[The One that was cursed by the Great Demon]
Effect: Gains the skill Nethalion's Eye
[Passive Skill: Nethalion's Eye – LVL 1]
Allows that player to look into the world from the perspective of the great demon. The efficiency of this skill depends on the prior knowledge of a player.
Cooldown: 60 seconds.
'Hmmm, what does that even mean? There's no mana cost or stamina cost. Let's use it then.'
[Nethalion's Eye!]
Kane looked at the walking people around.
[?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?]
[?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?]
[?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?] [?]
But a text box full of question marks appeared in front of him.
'Ehhh?! This is useless shit. Fuck you, Demon. You just riled my hopes up. Fucking troller.'
Upon reaching the waypoint on Miranda Kingdom port, Kane was able to access his personal storage box. Thankfully, he still got some items he looted from his party members from the Fruit Eye Cave. With that, he was able to wear some improved leather clothes.
'Now, I needed to get back at Herald City.'
[Tips: Fast Travel is available between waypoints.]
'Nice. Let's use that.'
[Fast Travel Options:]
Herald City Square
Miranda Kingdom Port
'Yay! Let's go and play this shit properly!'
[Pay 1000 Gold to Fast Travel?]
'What the hell was that? Wasn't this free at other games. These guys are really milking any money out of this shit. Well, it's a yes anyway.'
[You have insufficient funds.]
'Huh?!'
[You have: 0 Gold]
"Arggghhhh!!"
Kane suddenly started shouting in the middle of the market. A lot of people started walking away from the madman.
"Shitty AI. Then why bother asking me if I wanna pay when you know I have 0 gold?!?! Are you trying to fight with me, Huh!? AI!?"
Kane tried to click it again, but it doesn't let him fast travel. Kane immediately looked around and saw merchants around the port area. He looked at it his inventory and started sorting them out.
[Inventory]
Copper Sword
Attack: +40
Silveredge Armor
Magical Leather Pants
Scaled Boots
Ripped Underwear
After equipping some items, Kane went to the merchant and sold the rest of his items to get back at Herald City.
[You have: 435 Gold]
'Ashdlfwekhfosdfslj!! It's not even more than half of what I needed. Even if I sell these items that I equipped, it won't be enough!'
One of the bystanders saw him and whispered.
"Look at his equipment. Using leather pants for mage and then a Knight's armor on top. Fucking idiot."
After a few minutes of cursing at his virtual panels, Kane finally walked away and began strolling around the Miranda Kingdom. After an hour, he realized he achieved nothing.
'What the hell is this? I'm stuck in this place. Obviously, they're all level 20 and above! I need to leave! System! I will forgive you! This is your chance! Get me back to Herald City!'
But nothing happened.
[You found another waypoint: Miranda Kingdom Square.]
'What's the point?! I can't use it anyway! Wait a minute...'
Kane suddenly remembered something. He removed his VR goggles and took his phone.
[CURRENT BALANCE – 50,454 GAK DOLLARS]
'Uuuuuggghhhhh... is this worth it?'
Kane remembered that you can buy in-game gold by converting your real-life currency.
'1000 Dollars for 1000 Gold, seriously? For the same price, I could already pay for a quality hotel room for a day, which will also give me free transportation and quality food.'
But Kane refused to use his money for now. He wore back his VR goggles and returned to Arcadia. Suddenly, he heard someone screaming. It was a woman wearing a set of witch equipment.
"We're raiding the VALIAN Tower? Anyone wanted to join? The more people, the better!"
Just like before, Kane casually approached her.
"Hey! I'd like to joi—"
"Leave. We don't need you."
"But you're asking for peo—"
"You have a very assorted gear, and they're probably low level also. Leave."
"But my level is... not low."
"Show me your textbox."
Kane turned around and left.
PAK!
As soon as he turned around, he bumped into a crying boy. Kane approached him and asked,
"What's wrong?"
"My toy doll fell on that bridge!"
[Quest Activated: Lost Boy's Toy]
Clear Conditions: Find the toy that fell under the Bridge.
Reward: +5XP and Basic Bread
Failure Penalty: -5 Fame, -5 Reputation
'What's this? This might be a secret QUEST!?!'
Kane sniggered at the boy and then looked under the Bridge. He immediately saw the doll lying on the ground. Kane scratched his head.
'What's this? Is this a trap? Why does this look so easy?'
Kane slowly went down under the Bridge using the stairs. As soon as he stepped on the floor, he started tiptoeing like an idiot. Suddenly, an NPC on a bike casually went past him. The ground was totally safe. Kane felt a little bit embarrassed at the people weirdly looking at him. He took the doll and brought it back to the boy safely.
[Quest Completed]
[Reward: +5 XP, Basic Bread]
The boy smiled and handed him a bread. Kane smiled back at the boy while gently patting his head. The boy turned around and left.
"Wait, was that it? Hey, crybaby, get back here! Where's my quest?!"
But the boy was already gone. Kane went back to the market and sold the bread.
[+5 CB]
[+1 GOLD]
'Shit.'
He continued strolling around until he saw an old lady on the ground and approached her.
"Lady, what's wrong?"
"I hurt my back! Please help me walk back to my house!"
[Quest Activated: Back of the Old]
Clear Conditions: Help the old woman walk back to his house.
'AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGGG!! WHAT'S WITH THESE SHITTY QUESTS!!'
But Kane helped her anyway as he had no other choice. With no players wanted to party with him due to him being an obvious low-leveled dude, Kane resorted to doing these shitty quests.
A WEEK LATER.
[CURRENT BALANCE – 42,332 GAK DOLLARS]
'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! I haven't done anything at all!
KANE250 LVL 7 [HP: 190/190]
GOLD: 611
Still on Miranda Kingdom, Kane was carrying vegetables in a bag while walking toward a house. This was a quest that he already did over twenty times in just one week. He dropped the bag in front of the house.
[Quest Resolved]
Rewards: +10 Gold, +5 CB
[You have reached maximum character bonds with Jonas, the owner of this house.]
[Tips: Character Bonds or CB were just like Fame and Reputation, but this is for a player's personal connection with another character.]
'Character Bonds? Ahhh... so that's the CB? So, what's that suppo—'
BANG!
An old man suddenly barged out of the house. The man had a lot of old scars on his face. Kane was a little bit flustered that he took some steps back. But the man smiled and tried to approach Kane.
'What's with that serial killer smile?'
"Thank you, young man, for always helping me get these vegetables."
"No, it's okay."
"Here... take this."
[You have received 100 gold.]
'HOLY COW! I TAKE BACK MY WORDS. UNCLE JONAS IS THE BEST.'
Kane quickly took the reward money and smiled back. The man replied.
"I might need vegetables from time to time. So, visit us again."
'Ah, shit. I wanna ask if he'll give me another 100 gold next time. But nevermind...'
Kane smiled and then walked away. Suddenly, he saw a Tower from afar.
"Umm, mister. I've been seeing that Tower for a week now. What is it?"
"Ah, that's the WALLACE TOWER. One of the Towers that Classes can be achieved."
"Classes? Like Mages? Knight? Warrior? And so on?"
"Yeah. Don't you have a class?"
"I'm just Level 7."
"Oh! That's weird. This is the first time I met a Paragon with a level this low."
"Huh? You knew about levels? Do you have a level, sir Jonas?"
"I'm level 75. Why?"
Kane was surprised but tried his best to suppress his enraged emotions.
'This mofo could punch me all the way back to Herald City with his stats.'
"Hahahaha! Don't worry, kid, you'll get better, I believe it!"
"Did you get a class?"
"Yes. I was formerly I Knight that worked for the Mavencrown Royal Family. I achieved my Knight class at ARTHUR TOWER."
"Arthur Tower? How many towers were there?"
"The Founder of this Kingdom, King Caesarius, named this Kingdom after her lovely wife, Queen Miranda. After that, he created five Towers in the name of his five sons, Valian, Arthur, Jacob, Wallace, and Axel. His sons managed all of the towers. After they died, it is said that they were still managing the Towers in the Afterlife and were the ones who were giving out the classes to the people."
"Valian? I heard someone raiding it before."
"It was said to be the hardest Tower to clear as the monsters were already level 80 on the first floor."
"Hmmm. What's the easiest?"
"It was probably the JACOB TOWER. The monsters ranged from level 20 to level 50 and most suitable for beginners."
"It's far easier than Valian Tower. Why didn't people just go there?"
"Just like always. The higher the difficulty, the higher the rewards. The same case also happens to the classes that will be bestowed upon you. The harder the rooms were, the better your class rating will be."
"What happened when you got your class?"
"I cleared ARTHUR TOWER fast and efficiently enough that I was immediately promoted to an Elite Knight. Sometimes people aimed for a specific class but doesn't get it since they cleared the Tower far too easy."
"I heard about something that was called Secret Jobs or Secret Classes."
"Yes. It exists. If you're lucky, you can be a Necromancer. A being who can use basic magical abilities plus the power to manipulate the dead. You can also be a Paladin. It is a class made from the combination of a Knight, Assassin, and a Mage. I used to dream of becoming a Paladin."
"Oh! Really?! What happened?"
"I eventually gave up after 30 years of trying to achieve it. Maybe you can do it?"
[Quest Activated: Jonas' Fallen Dream]
Due to having a maximum character bond with Jonas, he started to share his broken dream about being a paladin. Learn more about being a paladin.
Clear Conditions: ???
Rewards: ???
Failure Penalty: ???
"How can I become a Paladin?"
"Well, Secret Classes are hard to find in Arcadia. To find them, you have to look at every crook and cranny for clues, and then you have to track all of them. Even Paragons like you find it hard to get them. But for being a Paladin, I know a way."
"Alright, I'm all ears, sir Knight."
"You have to perfectly climb the Valian Tower in one go."
"Uhhhh… What was that supposed to mean?"
"I still remember it when I was a kid."
Jonas told Kane about the day that his father came home in his Knight armor with a blank stare on his face. According to Jonas, that was just a few minutes after his father cleared the Valian Tower.
Climbing the Towers of Miranda Kingdom could be done in teams. However, to acquire a Class, all Players must enter the final room alone and defeat the final boss.
Based on Jonas' father, they were clearing the dungeon all the way up to the 96th floor with some Paragons. Suddenly, they were surprised at the presence of a Paragon camping on the 97th floor. Everyone was surprised, including the other Players.
No one would've thought that someone would create a camp in the middle of a dungeon raid. He literally had his own tent with abundant food supplies inside.
Jonas' said that his father started their raid two weeks earlier from the 1st Floor up to the 97th Floor. But the guy had just started his raid and managed to climb up to the 97th Floor all by himself in one day.
After a short break and discussion, his Father and the other Paragons continued going up with the Paragon, who camped at the 97th Floor. All of them were amazed at his performance. He was definitely the strongest in the room. Upon reaching the 100th Floor, they separated with each other to take the class quest.
Kane started to scratch his head as he realized that he might not get any class at all.
'Damn it, why do we have to be on separate rooms in resolving our class quests? Why didn't we just help each other to get the class that we want? World Peace.'
The old man continued his story. His father barely came out alive after defeating the Raid Boss. Upon going out of the room, he realized most of them died in that room. Paragons were just gonna respawn because they're players, but the NPCs like Jonas' father, they will be gone forever once they died.
His father and the other survivors were both sad and glad that it was finally over. All of them came out with their respective classes.
"They thought they wouldn't be surprised anymore until this guy came out. The dude who camped at the 97th floor came out with unique yellow energy radiating from his body. My father has never seen anything like that. He approached him and asked him what kind of person did he become. He said that he was the very first person to ever get a hidden class in Miranda Kingdom. He became a Paladin."