The secret to the Lucid Dream Server was revealed in the next few days; and most of the beta players entered level one hundred upwards. Since most of the beta players started relatively early compared to Yuuta, it was a given that they will be more ahead of him when it comes to levels.
On that certain day, specifically Yuuta's first day in the actual game of the Lucid Dream Server, a small number of players managed to unearth an ancient Training Tower that allows their avatar to level up quickly. And once that was made public, most beta players partook of the easy way and started leveling up their avatars as fast as possible.
Just like any other players who are new to this sort of thing, they took everything at face value. They thought that the faster you level up, the stronger you get. In a sense, that mindset was true to the letter. However, this is the Lucid Dream Server, anything can happen and there are no certainties. That's why mere figures such as levels are just a way of showing who's got more numbers. Sure, you'll get more stats, but the faster you go, the more opportunities you miss out on. The best examples of these opportunities are the beginner quests and some class quests that could only be obtained in lower levels.
Of course, when you reach higher levels, you get better class quests and advanced quests but they are relatively higher compared to the lower ones.
This is how balanced it is in the world of Lucid.
At that time, Yuuta did some delivery quests until he reached the minimum level of ten. One would wonder what happened to the gathering that was supposed to happen on that day when Yuuta first logged in, but apparently, it was canceled due to unforeseen circumstances...
Circumstances, that is, the murders happening in the City have gotten more rampant that it became a national problem. Because of that, most of the beta players residing in the city decided to move out. In the end, Yuuta didn't get to hear anything from Miki's parents. Of course, the dinner wasn't canceled, but all they did was eat in a nearby family restaurant as if Miki's parents were meeting her boyfriend.
Miki and her parents then decided to return to their home in Canada. They knew that staying in Japan would be a bit risky so they left without prior notice.
At first, Yuuta was surprised, but he heard everything from Miki when they met again inside the Lucid Dream Server. Upon hearing the explanation from her, he knew that he couldn't blame Miki after all that's happened.
"I'm sorry about this Yuuta. I hope I can tell you everything but I can't do it right now. You have to find everything yourself and then we'll help you." Those were Miki's last words and from then on, Miki never spoke of the murders again, nor did she speak of its possible connection with the Lucid Dream Server.
Yuuta understood everything, however. At first glance, he could already tell that the situation was more complicated than he thought and Miki's parents are probably put in an unfavorable situation and that's why they can't tell him anything.
And also, Lucid Dream Server Corp. hasn't released a single statement regarding their possible connection with the murders. Of course, why would they jeopardize their company by doing something unnecessary? And who in their right mind would think that such a well-known Corporation would have any ties with the murders around the City?
.....
It was by far one of the longest delivery Yuuta had to make but the experience points he earned was worth it. If it had been any other deliveries, he would've earned sub-par experience points but now, the points he gathered were enough to make him rise another level.
[Title: Swift Delivery
— With your swift feet, delivery is now easier on you.
— Grants +15 to your speed and stamina stats.
— You now gain twice the amount of experience points you need every time you deliver a high-quality parcel
— If your delivery was done in 1 minute, you gain +1 stat point, if your delivery was done in 30 seconds, you gain +2 stat points, if your delivery was done in 15 seconds, you can get a specific reward.]
"Ahk~!" Yuuta couldn't help but exclaim as something cold was pressed on his face. As he turned around, he saw Miki's prepossessing and cheerful face staring back at him.
"Here," Miki motioned, handing Yuuta a cold drink. "You should get some rest. That was one of the fastest delivery I've ever seen in all my days in Lucid."
"Apparently, I still didn't meet the criteria. Hitting sub-1 minute in deliveries was way harder than I thought."
"Why are you trying to do that? Are you trying to become an expert deliveryman in this game? Or maybe, is your class more or less connected to doing deliveries?" Miki sincerely asked since she was genuinely curious.
Yuuta showed him his new title.
"So that's why," Miki commented. "In any case, you finally hit level ten, right? Want me to accompany you to a nearby Town Hall for your registration as an adventurer?"
The sun was directly overhead when Yuuta and Miki stood up and went their way to the town hall. Ever since that incident with Miki being unable to tell him anything, there had been an awkward atmosphere slowly taking shape between them. And no matter how much effort they put in on striking up a conversation from here and there, the atmosphere still didn't want to abandon them.
"Hey, Yuuta... um, never mind," Miki muttered as she forced herself to smile. "I'll contact you later, I need to tell you something."
"Uh, sure," Yuuta responded, wondering what it's all about. If it were a sensitive topic, then he knew he cannot compel her to tell him. In the end, he decided to leave it for later.
"Here we are!" Miki excitedly exclaimed as she waved her hand in front of the Town Hall.
"Welcome to the Town Hall in Revalia! We hope you find your stay in this city a satisfying one." A lady wearing a maid outfit called out, pressing her hand against each other as she tilted her head.
Yuuta and Miki immediately knew that she was an NPC because of the forced expression of happiness plastered on her face. It was obvious she didn't like greeting the players but she tried so hard not to show it.
"Did you see that?" Miki whispered as they headed inside.
"Yeah, what was that about? I mean, all of the NPC's here seem to be wary of us. And some of them are even resentful towards us."
"We don't know either, but a recent announcement from the Silverwing, the gaming company who developed the Lucid Dream Server, said something about it. Apparently, gaining the trust of the NPC's is another aspect of this game. They said that the NPC's characters are intentional for all the players" Miki whispered. "Don't let them hear you talking about them, though. It won't end well for both parties. The last time that happened, a Dreamer lost his temper and raised his hand against an NPC. He accidentally killed him."
"And?! Don't tell me— "
"That's right, the NPC died and there was no way to bring him back. What's more, the NPC that got killed was actually a father of two kids. When his wife heard the news, she was distraught and she didn't eat for days until she almost died." Miki recounted the story with a grim expression on her face. "To the NPC's, of course, their loved ones are real and when they die, they die for good."
"What did the developers say?"
"Nothing, they said that every action taken in the Lucid Dream Server is all part of the game and since there aren't any bugs, they didn't want to go through the pain of resurrecting one NPC just because someone killed him. In the end, the Dreamer who accidentally killed an NPC became a wanted man. Since then, no one has tried to gain the trust of the NPC's, thinking that it will only make things worse. And also, every Dreamer is a successful person in life, right? What do you think would happen if NPC's perceived them to be evil? Do you think they will do anything about it?"
"With the way they are, they probably won't care in the least bit."
"Yes, and that's why this has become a major problem. The tension between the NPC's and the Dreamers are aggravating and neither side are trying to fix it."
"Why? It's clear who's at fault here. We dreamers are the ones who are at fault. That man killed an NPC! If it were to happen in real life, wouldn't that be a crime? Where in this world would anyone get away after killing someone?"
"I know, but there's nothing we can do. And didn't I say that a majority of us Dreamers didn't want to take part in fixing the problem? Seriously, all of them are too busy in leveling up that they're destroying this game." Miki pursed her lips.
And she spoke with the truth. If the situation worsens, then the opening of the game to the masses would be disastrous. In a worst-case scenario, the NPC's might even wage war against the Dreamers. After everything that's happened, it was obvious that everything was leading to that scenario happening.
"We have to do something about it. We are the beta players, it's our job to open up the path for the latecomers, ultimately helping everyone playing the game soon. We can't leave this matter like this." Yuuta mumbled to himself but just like any other Dreamers in the Lucid Dream Server, he had no idea where to start.