"Why is that?" Jack asked.
"Because he's close to that girl, Red Death, from Death Associates. They're rumored to be fellow pupils of the same martial art teacher in real life. But unlike Red, he didn't like getting tied down to a guild. Nevertheless, due to his relationship with Red, the Death Associates often looked for him if they had matters they needed help with which couldn't involve their guild members. If your issue with Death Associates keeps up, sooner or later you will have to deal with him as well."
"I see," Jack looked over at him. The black-clad Ranger coincidentally also looked at Jack. Realizing their eyes had met, Blackjack made a motion with his finger slicing his neck; a classical indicator that he would kill Jack if he got the chance. Jack guessed that he must have heard from Red Death about what had happened yesterday.
Well, one way or another, he couldn't avoid trouble, Jack thought. He might be a man of few words, but he was not the type to just lower his head if someone tried to bully him or his friends. If they really wanted a fight, Jack wouldn't mind giving them their own medicine.
*
Compared to the previous few days, this morning there were very few people seen coming from afar. Most of the people making their way to the light, as directed by the sky notification, had already made it to the safe zone; anyone remaining either couldn't make it or had died during their journey.
Soon the sun reached its zenith, marking the arrival of noon. The light beam that had been continuously pouring down from the sky began to intensify and thicken. The radiance spread over and caused the transparent light dome that covered the entire City Park to solidify into a thick wall of light.
There were a few people outside the light dome still making their way in. When they reached the light dome, which had been completely traversable, they now met with a solid wall that barred them from passing through.
They were banging from outside. They shouted to ask the people inside to let them in, but even their voices couldn't be heard through the light wall. The folks inside looked at those trapped outside. Even if they wanted to help, they had no idea what to do. The light wall had trapped them inside as well. A voice came from the sky the same way as it had five days ago.
"The time is up! Those that have failed to arrive on time have failed the tutorial phase. Penalty will be applied."
As soon as the notification ended, those people outside burst into particles of dust. Everyone watching was taken aback. Some even screamed from the spectacle.
"That was cruel!" Bowler whispered, shock in his voice.
A different booming voice came from above. Unlike the previous notification voice that sounded computerized, this one had a different timber. This time it sounded like it came from a real human's vocal cords.
"Congratulations to all of you who have passed this tutorial phase!"
A smaller light beam descended from the highest part of the light dome and landed near the abstract sculpture at the center of the park. The light coalesced into a human shape and revealed an old man with long white beard wearing a typical pointed magician hat and white trimmed robe. He was holding a long golden cane with a bird-shaped head. His eyes were white, without pupils; streams of light blue mist could be seen swirling from those eyes. His domineering aura completely captivated the crowd surrounding him; no one made a sound.
When he spoke again, his voice was enhanced as if it was coming from a loudspeaker. Yet, it was neither too loud for those standing closest to the old man, nor too soft for those furthest away.
"Those of you who stand here have proven yourselves to be worthy adventurers, and thus you have been granted passage to the Main World."
As he finished his sentence, a rumbling was heard accompanied by a small earthquake. The water in the pond parted and a colossal black doorway arose from its center. Its black frame was decorated with extensive carvings that showed depictions of humans, monsters, landscapes, and cities.
When Jack focused his attention on the carvings, they somehow appeared as if moving. They changed from one second to the next, like slides that were constantly changing. Its double doors were closed and sometimes a crack of blue electricity could be seen coming through the gap between the door leaves. The doorway stood floating above the surface of the pond water with empty air holding it erect.
The old man continued his talk, "The passage will be opened and you will be transported to a kingdom called Themisphere. You will land outside its capital, Thereath. You will learn the rules of the Kingdom and the Main World when you arrive there. As you have experienced in this tutorial period, there will be monsters roaming the wilderness. The only safe places are cities and towns governed by the kingdoms and countries of the Main World. But many opportunities can only be found in the wilderness. If you want to become stronger, then you will need to wander out into that wilderness. Survive and receive all the glory! Stay cooped up in safe zones, or perish, and be a nobody. It's your decision!"
He paused and looked around at the crowd, giving them a moment to digest this information before continuing, "But before you head to the Main World, those with the highest achievement during this tutorial period will be granted rewards. One hundred adventurers with the highest levels will now be called out. They will be given a chance to choose from a pool of rewards. The first rank will have the first pick of the rewards; second rank will have the second pick, and so on."
The crowd started murmuring when they heard about rewards. The silent field gradually increased in noise as everybody started discussing the rewards and making conjectures regarding possible winners.
"I say it must be Warpath; he was the most well-known player out of those gathered here," said one person.
"I agree," said the others.
"Don't underestimate the guilds' powerhouses! They are usually the ones that gain levels the fastest because of their guild's support. I say Grimclaw will score the first place."
"Don't be absurd, Red Death is a better player."
"No, she isn't."
"I say Blackjack has a real shot here."
"I still say Warpath."
"Selena from Wicked Witch is a hot contender."
"Don't forget Kill Order from Black Cloak."
"Warpath is number one!"
The old man with the golden cane just stood there in silence, allowing the crowd to continue with their conjectures.
"What do you think, brother Storm Wind?" Silverwing joined in the discussion.
Before Jack could reply, Bowler, the loudmouth, took the liberty to answer, "What is there to think? Of course my brother here will be the first rank!"
A burst of laughter could be heard from the side. Grimclaw was enjoying a hysterical laugh. "Are you kidding me there? That nobody? I doubt he will even get into the ranking at all!"
"Do you want to bet?" Bowler taunted.
Grimclaw was incensed. These country bumpkins really didn't know how big the world was. Nevertheless, he didn't let his rage get to him. Even though he didn't think too much of those guys, there was no guarantee this Storm Wind wouldn't get into the hundred rankers. So he tweaked the condition of the bet, "Why not? If he gets a higher rank than me, I'll accept defeat!"
Bowler was aware that Grimclaw had changed his words, but he didn't mind. "All right, if my Brother Storm Wind gets a higher rank than you, you will give him that rare sword that you're so proud of."
Grimclaw seemed hesitant. This was a rare-grade weapon that he had gotten from a very lucky drop.
"Afraid now?" Bowler continued taunting, "If so, you can just take back what you said, we don't mind."
Grimclaw felt his rage coming up again. He saw Bluedaze and Dashrunner shaking their heads at him. They must be trying to say not to antagonize their guests? This caused him to get angrier, why was everyone so nice to this group of nobodies?
"All right!" He cried. "But if he loses, I'll need an item of equal value to my rare weapon. If you don't have something like that, then compensate me with three uncommon equipment or ten normal equipment and an additional 3 silver coins!"
"Deal!" Bowler said without hesitation.