"It's impossible you don't know that?" He looked at me with mixed doubt
"Uhm.. The truth is that I don't remember anything; I just woke up in the middle of the forest. When I received the invitation message I immediately searched on the map where the direction to Tolbana was, so I got here" I looked at him with innocent, hoping that he would believe. I think it's best to hide from anyone that I can log out anytime, it's not safe
"Is that so?" Good thing he believe me I could take a deep breath
"Wait for a second, Sokka" All players turned to the man who suddenly spoke "Before I play this game of teams with you, there's something I have to say" He is a short yet solidly built man with sienna, spiky (cactus-styled) brownish-orange hair. He also has a small sienna goatee and brown eyes and wears scale mail armor with a rather large one-handed sword on his back.
"Opinions are welcomed. But first, tell us your name?" Sokka asked him when he reached the stage
"My name is Kibaou" He stopped for a moment and he shout "YOU COWERING BETA TESTERS! SHOW YOUR-SELVES!!" everyone is silent "There should be quite a few in this group! Be honest and show yourselves!" The whispers of other players can already be heard "In this one month, those guys hogged all the resources! Apologize to those who died because of that! Then take all the money and items you've obtained and hand it all over!" He said in furious. I was surprised to hear that, Sachi was not only the Beta tester
"Yeah!" One player shouted. The growing murmur of the players in the amphitheater can be heard
"Can I say something?" A man said. He is a massive and bulky African American with a brown goatee and brown eyes. He is bald and wears two silver earrings on his left ear "My name is Agil. Kibaou what you're trying to say is.." Kibaou's fear will be reflected "They should compensate for the beginners who died because they did not receive care from the original beta players, is that correct?"
"That.. That's right. Since the day this game began, they've abandoned most of the beginners. The players who have already leveled up all left the starting town" I just listened quietly "Do you know people like that too?" He asked Agil. The man next to me bowed slightly and clasped his hand
"That's true. The ESCAPE system provides limited resources however Kibaou the players who only think of the survival of themselves" Agil continues "If they could only pick one which would they choose? 'Good hunting spot'? Or 'Easy quest'?"
"What are you trying to say..?" He asked
"If it were me, I would choose 'information' whenever I reach a new city or town, this guide book is always in the item shop" Agil showed them a guide book "Everyone must've benefited from this. Plus, it was distributed for free" He added
"However, no matter how you look at it, this information guide is to advance" Agil continue while looking at the guide book "This strategy guide on monsters and map data the information shop provided is something from Beta players before us" He raised the guide book and presented it to the players "Listen up, this information is the best gift for us beginners, it's true many people died, but that's because they thought ESCAPE was the same as other MMOs and missed the opportunity to retreat when they noticed" Kibaou has slightly embarrassed even him didn't know about the existence of the guide book "On the other hand, those of us who learned to use the information booklet is still alive"
"Hey! What does he mean to beginners? Meaning there are first players here before you- I mean before us?" I asked the man next to me
"Yea, there are previous players before us, meaning we are the second batch" He answered
"Does that mean they reach the 100th floor?" There is still a chance to finish the game
"Only one reached the 100th floor, centuries ago, and he defeated the boss alone so all the players returned to the real world. Those who got out of this game made a way to get back here, they made their system that is connected to this world, and the only difference between them and us is that they can log out while we are not"
"But do you remember why you got here?" I asked
"All the memories in the real world are remembered by everyone here except how they got here" I feel pity for them, they have imprisoned here in the virtual world as well as their bodies in the real world "They are also players who have been accepted that they can no longer leave this world" He looked at the light blue sky "So they decided to live here in starter floor"
"Perhaps they were afraid to die," I said that's better than fighting and die
"If they were afraid to die, they would have wondered what could happen to their real bodies outside of this world" He's right they can't be here forever because the time will come when their bodies can't handle it
"Whatever you choose; whether you stay here on the starter floor or be the front liner you will still end up the same and that is death" Now I understand them better. They are also afraid to die but they have no choice but to try even it is hard