They soon made their way next to the mayor.
"So, this is the infamous Undying I've been hearing about all day," the blonde man spoke.
"I don't know why, but I honestly expected him to be shining from top to bottom," said the woman.
The first man spoke nothing, only staring at Lorn with his pink irises. With the man so close to him, Lorn realized he was an albino.
"We'll be hunting Possessed wolves," the mayor spoke. "This is the Undying that came upon our village, but since he's a beginner in spirit techniques, he wants to see them close in action. You three hunt the wolves and we'll be observing from the sidelines."
"Aren't they the prophesized heroes who were supposed to accomplish the One Emperor's Grand Order? How come they don't even know spirit techniques?" the blonde spoke.
"We aren't born knowing how to walk," the mayor replied. "But you can probably feel the strength of his soul even without him showing it. It's only a matter of time before Lorn here becomes an adept Hunter."
"Well, hello Lorn, I'm called Danton," the blonde smiled.
"I'm Sybil," the woman said. "The big guy here's named Shekh. Don't worry about him. He's not the sociable type, but he's dependable in hunts."
"Okay," Lorn replied. "I'll be in your care."
Since they were nice enough to hold his hands for the time being, the least he could do was to be respectful.
The mayor spoke up after the introductions were finished. "Danton."
"Yeah, yeah," the blonde said and approached the massacre below.
He touched one of the mutilated sheep… and something odd happened. Somehow, Lorn knew Danton did something, but he couldn't tell what exactly. One of his senses definitely picked up something, but the sense itself felt completely new to him.
Before he could wrap his head around his new ability, Danton spoke. "They headed west."
The group nodded and walked behind him. As they traveled, the mayor explained to Lorn.
"Could you feel what he did?"
"Yes…" Lorn nodded. "But it was so weird."
"It's your first time sensing a spirit technique in action," the mayor explained. "If you want an easier explanation… imagine if you were deaf your whole life. What would it feel when you finally hear something? It's the same thing when you use your spirit. Since there are no such techniques in your world, of course you'd find your new sense odd and unfamiliar."
Lorn nodded slowly.
"Danton has received the boon of Enhancement," the mayor continued. "The same as yours, but he has branched into dexterity and agility. He also has some useful survival and tracking skills. He's using the latter now."
"How do you learn branch out? Learning new skills and everything."
"It happens naturally. The All-seeing takes note of your actions, judges them, and bestows upon you what it deems most suitable."
"The All-seeing?"
"The deity that shows your Status."
Lorn tilted his head. He thought the status was something specific to the players. But apparently everyone in the world had them. And they thought it was a deity.
'Well, I guess it's natural they would think it's a deity…' he thought after a bit.
'But to receive different skills, I need to do something that'll lead me to it…'
The problem was Lorn himself wasn't so set on what he wanted to become. His goal was to garner the attention of the researchers, so the more eye-catching his actions were, the better.
However, that didn't seem right either. For better or worse, the researchers had access to his consciousness. They would be able to tell whether or not he was simply faking interest.
Lorn needed something that would grab their attention even if they knew what was going on. Something that would exceed the expectations they had for him.
He diligently raked through his memories for something that fit the criteria… Soon, he remembered something that Danton spoke.
' 'Prophesized heroes that were supposed to fulfill the One Emperor's Grand Order…'; that's what he said!' Lorn thought excitedly.
As for the One Emperor, he was sure it was the One Leader's persona in this world. Lorn didn't know how he was portrayed in here, but surely, he was someone crucial to the world. And he had ordered his empire's people to do something for him. Something that hadn't been achieved yet.
If Lorn could fulfill that order… surely that would be worth something.
"Miss Eider," Lorn said. "What's the One Emperor's Grand Order that Danton mentioned?'
"Oh, that caught your attention?" she smiled.
"Since I heard about the Undying being prophesized to fulfill that order, I was just curious."
"Aha, I'm sure," the mayor nodded. "It is a confusing thing, the Grand Order. I'm sure you'll find it odd as well… The One Emperor's Grand Order is for someone to take his life. Whoever manages the feat will be able to rule over his Empire."
The mayor was shaking his head, but it made perfect sense to Lorn. It sounded exactly like something the One Leader would do. In fact, a similar thing existed in the real world. Anyone who could beat the One Leader at five board games was promised anything they desired. Even if they wanted to rule over the One Country, the chance was there.
The board games were chess, go, shogi, checkers, and finally, gungi – a game from a fictional story that the One Leader developed into a proper board game.
So far, only the best of the best could beat him at their own respective games. But for the other four, they could never achieve success. And so far, there was no one in the world who could beat him at gungi.
Actually, doesn't this world's grand order sound more plausible? They just needed to kill him, no?
"Why can't some people group up to defeat him?" he asked.
No matter how strong someone was, fighting against many was nigh impossible. Lorn knew this fact well from his days of training in martial arts.
"Ah, it's because the most amount of people who can challenge him at one time is only five," the mayor explained. "Any more than that, and the One Emperor simply culls them randomly until only five are left."
"What? So he can choose to kill people? Just like that?"
The mayor nodded with a sigh. "He is not the One Emperor for nothing. He has a skill that allows him to condemn his subjects to death. We don't know how it works exactly, but with it, he had ruled over this world for several millennia. As his title states, he is the one and only."
Lorn was really curious on how that worked. The part about him living here for millennia must be a part of the lore, but all the NPCs believed that completely. What kind of code must have been written so they became like that?
The more Lorn stayed in the world, the more he was impressed by everything. He was gradually becoming more and more invested in the world, as everything in it felt realistic and lived-in.
Then, remembering Reina's warning, he picked out the mirror and looked at his immersion rate.
[Immersion: 25%]
'Shit, it went up by 2… If it goes on like this, I'll have to log out in one or two days only.'
The group stopped when Danton held up his hand. Once again, Lorn's newfound sense tingled. Danton had used some skill again, but of course, there was no way for Lorn to know what exactly.
"They've noticed us," Danton whispered.