''System Log in" James said after he closed the VR POD.
James walked on the streets of Del town in Salford City as he looked for information about the current level of most of the players.
James read and checked the forum but only got information about people trying to ban the player Atlas for "cheating" and clearing a dangerous level dungeon without skills.
The arrival and completion of the first dungeon in Zero Evolution Online marked the beginning of the popping up of other dungeons, this helped those who developed their skills to level up quickly.
After the feat James pulled, a lot of people tried clearing levels of similar difficulty and as expected they all fail. But this helped provide information to individuals who capitalised to start the formation of their own guilds and recruit members to facilitate their expansion.
This prompted them to take a much less difficult level, which also turned out to be too much for them. Just to comfort themselves of their inadequacy, they decided to put the "cheater" tag on the Atlas character.
After walking around and gathering information, James found out that the lowest level was Level 12 and the maximum was 15. Something noteworthy that happened to James was the recovery of his soul eyes.
The passive ability of the soul eyes allowed him to see behind any disguises. This allowed him to see through the levels of various players.
'Hmmm as expected, three days was enough for everyone to catch up to my level. I think leaving everyone behind is not going to help me in the early phase. The upcoming events will depend on level caps which will prevent me from participating.' James thought as he remembered one of the pieces of information he received from Bella earlier.
"I hope I can get the life seed as soon as possible. Bella will be of great help in the guild I plan to create. Her knowledge and years of experience are irreplaceable" James thought.
"Huh, who is that weird guy? How can he see with that blindfold on? Is he an NPC or a player?" A player in the assassin equipment set said as he stared at James.
"I think he should be an NPC. He is not in any equipment and we cannot distinguish his class, his level is also hidden. I don't think any player can do that yet. The presence he is giving off cannot come from a player." The priest answered his friend.
"Yes, I guess. Did you hear about the first-world boss that is tied to a Dungeon? I received news earlier from the guild" The assassin whispered to his friend.
James picked up their sound when they discussed him.
'Oh, Shit!!! I even have more information than these bastards but I don't even have my defensive and evasive gear. The chaos body protected my ass last time. I guess that fight was all luck. I am so great that even luck smiles upon me than twice in one situation. Hahaha' James thought as praised himself shamelessly.
''Ahhhh. I have a lot to figure out on my own. The is no information about chaos body magic. I thought fusing with the essence of one's elemental affinities with the body was already normal. I guess I was gravely mistaken. There is no known information on chaos body magic but it seems body magic is a thing in this world." James muttered as he was about to leave in search of equipment when he heard the assassin discussing something about a world boss.
"Huh did you say, world boss? Are you sure you have the right information? In the manual of the game, world bosses are not tied to any dungeons. They leave in different territories without the presence of other magical beasts" The priest said to his friend.
''Well, the information is correct since it came from the upper echelons. I am sure it has to do with that player called Atlas clearing a dangerous level dungeon before even going through the other grades. As the heads of our big family, they will not spread fake news that will affect our game progress which will in turn affect the family guild. Every major family wants to secure a position in this new game industry, if we could get first clear imagine the dramatic increase in our status" The assassin whispered to the priest to prevent the leaking of the information.
"So what is the coordinate of the dungeon? Do you have other people forming a party?" The priest asked.
"The coordinates are (WX:23/SY:145). I have not found any party members for the..." The assassin was saying this when his friend cut him off.
"Are you crazy? This is a fucking world boss. We will not even be able to clear through the elite level of the dungeon and how do you plan to withstand a world boss level beast?" The priest as the cautious type berated his friend.
"I am also thinking for our benefit, the more people join, the lesser rewards we will get....." The assassin was speaking...
"Well, I have heard enough of this drama. How can people be this foolish? Sharing the coordinates through speech while intending to keep it a secret is stupid. I guess they don't know of the message feature yet." James muttered as he shrugged.
' I need to get myself some defensive equipment. I also need to get some potions. The last time I had a close shave with death, I need to be fully prepared. This is a world boss after all.' James thought as he headed towards the Salford Market Square.
'Oh no! I forgot about my lack of game coins. I converted all my gold coins into real-world dollars. All I can do is trade is sell my dungeon loot and get some coins. I hope I get a good price for all of them.' James sighed as he headed towards the market square.
He also had something else he planned to settle in the square which nearly escaped his mind.
"Young man come and take a look at my goods" A trader called out to James as he advertised his goods.
"Young man..." Another trader said. Similar situations were occurring to other players as they searched around the market for their preferred item.
"Yes, that's her." James said as he looked at the female in the run-down shack.
With his soul eyes, he stared at the female to check up on her identity and stats. This was what came up.
--------------------------------------------
NAME: ???
NPC LEVEL: ???
HEALTH: ???
STATS: ???
RELATIONSHIP: ???
--------------------------------------------
Even for James, this was weird. With his soul eyes, he could see any NPC's name no matter the level difference between them. In the previous encounter with Jones, he was able to see his name but not his other stats.
' I need to make this count, building a relationship might bring me some benefits.' James thought as he headed towards the rundown shack.
"Hello, Madam. Can I please help you with something? Is there any help I can offer to alleviate your burdens in your shack?" James said as he offered his help to the old woman.
'Huh? I can't see what he is thinking. Never expected this. It seems I have found something interesting" The woman thought as she scanned James thoroughly.
Unbeknownst, to James, had he been a normal player or individual, all his secrets would have been laid bare to this woman and his intentions of getting in her good graces would have been discovered easily.
"Yes, young lad, your help will be appreciated by my old bag of bones." The woman replied to James in a hoarse voice.
[Ding....]