"You? Hold on. I think Nicholas is the leader," I explained.
"Haha, a lot of people think so, but he's just the guy I assigned to find another new Adamas, so he doesn't fall into the Three Knights Alliance," replied Ethan, walking over to me while waving his hand to brush away the dry leaves that had fallen on my right and left shoulders.
"I heard your request to us about that woman." I saw Ethan start to turn his head with a flat expression looking at Eve, standing next to me. I don't know what he means, but if he stays the same as Nicholas, I'll stick to my decision.
"Before you go, do you mind if I take you out for tea together?" asked Ethan.
I was silent, and so was Eve. He smiled too much; his tall and well-built body made his image look dashing in my eyes. I don't think he has any ill will at all. Maybe spending an hour with him is fine.
"All right. However, we can't stay long," I replied, Ethan smiling and nodding.
Nicholas kept looking at me confusedly. I don't think it's just him, but all of the Adamas in the place are looking at us strangely. Eve seemed to be walking with me, accompanying me while holding her spear firmly.
"Is it just me, or are they really looking at us that way?" Eve asked. I raised my shoulders; I didn't know at all.
Ethan is seen taking us deeper into the forest. Thanks to the moonlight, we could see through the same path Ethan took to get to a place. We walked for a long time. Finally, Ethan stopped and showed us a green field smaller than Eve's practice field.
Eve and I were silent and couldn't say anything. A place in the middle of the forest like this can be used as a small village with houses that stand neatly. I counted about ten houses that were standing medium in size, neither too big nor too small.
"It's like a campsite. The only difference is that it uses the house," I said.
"Make yourself comfortable," replied Ethan.
The man seemed to walk into the middle of the village while greeting the people he met one by one. They're Adamas like me. Only among them are some ordinary civilians with green cursors.
"Who are they?" I asked, pointing to a child eight-year-old playing with the other little ones.
Ethan stopped walking and looked at me, then he turned his eyes to the person I was pointing to. He smiled, his legs bent while his right hand was raised high. He waved to the child as if telling him to come closer.
"His name is Excel. We found him with the other abandoned children in one of the villages destroyed by the monsters," Ethan explained, hearing her sympathize.
"We can't just leave him alone. So, we brought and trained him in self-defense until he could take care of himself and live independently in adulthood," said Ethan.
I started to walk toward him, and so did Eve. The man immediately stood up as soon as he saw I was already near him. Then, he began to invite me into his house, saying he wanted to talk to me about the Paladin Class I have.
"Come into my house."
***
Eve rolled her eyes; for some reason, hearing Ethan's explanation made her look so angry. I noticed her change in attitude, and immediately my hand grabbed the back of Eve's hand to calm her heart.
"Calm down, Eve," I said, no more of the black sheet full of mystery about the death of the man Eve loved.
"I know him. He's one of the strongest spear users we've ever met. However, because of his great ability, some people start to dislike him," replied Ethan; he was seen drinking the sweet tea he served.
"Those Templars were jealous of August's strength and chose to kill him," continued Ethan.
"Damn Templars!" groaned Eve; Ethan seemed to turn his gaze to Eve's face.
Ethan nodded his head like he understood something I didn't. Then, he started asking Eve questions, not me. The questions are basic, such as the relationship between Eve and August, to specific questions, such as August's friends.
"That man died just when he was 28," replied Ethan, Eve nodding in agreement.
"Why are you telling us all this?" I asked, confused and curious.
Not without reason, I just didn't want Eve to think anything of it if Ethan kept telling her about August's death. I don't even know where this conversation will actually take.
"Because you're related to Eve and August," Ethan explained, taking another sip of his tea.
"You're the first Paladin we've met after ten years. We're not going to waste this," said Ethan, his voice rising with enthusiasm.
"Your men said I'm the most influential class among the other classes. What does it mean?" I ask.
Ethan fell silent. He immediately put his teacup on the table and started to stand up to the cupboard filled with bookshelves. He opened the cupboard door made of glass and took out a book that looked dusty.
"A Paladin gave it to me. He wrote down what he knew in this book," replied Ethan, showing me the book he was holding.
"Like a diary?" I asked, Ethan nodding his head in agreement.
Ethan sat down and handed me his book, "It's about intelligence. You can see it, right?"
Intelligence? What does it mean? Does my intelligence have a different average from other classes?
"What's different about that?" I asked, increasingly curious.
"Wow. You don't seem to know anything, do you?" Ethan asked, making fun of me and pissing me off.
Sorry. I came to this world three days ago; how am I supposed to know so much about all these things in such a short time?
Ethan pointed his head at me. I squinted these two eyes, analyzing what he was really trying to explain to me.
"The Adamas have another purpose in this world, which is for brain healing therapy," explains Ethan.
"A brain?" I asked.
"Correct. You, me, and all of the Adamas came here because we have the same disease, MSA."
"What is it?" I'm getting more and more curious. The irritation inside of me is getting less and less after Ethan is happy to explain why I'm stranded in this virtual world.
"Multiple System Atrophy. A neurological disorder that causes the loss of the nervous system in the brain and spinal cord in regulating our bodies, "said Ethan.
The sentence he said was high enough, I couldn't understand it well. However, one thing for sure and I know is that I was stranded due to an illness. So they brought me here to cure me.
"Usually, this neurological disorder affects older people, but recently, adults and teenagers like us can get it."
"What caused it?" I asked.
"I don't know. However, I'm guessing it's because of our environment and bad habits," replied Ethan.
Environment? Is it the large amount of air pollution caused by factory waste that causes all this? That makes sense because factory waste pollution is dangerous. However, as for habit, I'm a bit confused.
"I don't know how the administrator manages our classes, but the Three Knights Alliance feels that the status of a Paladin is too high," replied Ethan, starting to explain the Paladin class to me again.
"Out of jealousy, they formed a group of mutual aid between the three knights, the Templars, Janissaries, and Hospitalers."
"Their goal in general is to help each other out, but their behind-the-scenes job is to catch every paladin and kill him," Ethan said.
I nodded in understanding, leaning against the chair's back. The explanation was detailed and precise. My curiosity began to disappear, along with the answers to the questions I had already gotten in my mind.
"So, what should I do?" I asked.
"Join a neutral group, such as the Conservative Union or another group. Be good at communicating so that you can trick other people, especially the Templars," explained Ethan, his main goal still getting me to join.
"Okay, I understand. Maybe I'll start learning to disguise myself from now on. However, I still can't seem to be able to join a group."
"Don't rush. You still have a long time," Ethan replied.
Our conversation took over an hour. It was pretty dark outside, not so dark because it wasn't late at night. The houses began to be lit by oil lamps, and some people started to light bonfires in their front yards.
"They seem to be enjoying all of this as if they've forgotten what we're here for," I replied, watching Adamas one by one, who were talking to each other in a friendly manner.
"It was heartbreaking actually."
I stopped my steps, and so did Eve. I immediately turned around and looked at Ethan with my heart filled with confusion at the man's answer.
"What do you mean?" I asked, surprised.
"Out of all the Adamas I've met. Most of them don't want to return to their world," Ethan replied.
"What? Isn't this the fake world?"
"Indeed, but much better than their original life. Some people don't get love, wealth, recognition, or position in real life. However, it's different here. They have everything they want."
Ethan's words were a failure; the other Adamas had abandoned their goal just to have fun in this place. I don't understand why they could have such fun living in a virtual world.
"Do you feel the same way?" I ask Ethan
"I don't know. You'll feel it too after all these years of living here," replied Ethan, wishing me the same pleasure as them.
"Nope. My goal is to return to my original world. My parents are worried about me; how can I have a good time here?"