The next morning, Aryan was woken up by a phone call from Sen.
"It's you smartass! What's the bad news ?" Aryan asked in a sleepy voice.
What do you even mean by that? Anyway, you get to choose your missions for the week.
And if you ask me, I suggest we go to the goblin crypt! What do you say? [It's an easy hunt and good money.]
"Goblinnn... what? " Aryan asked, slowly lifting his body out of bed.
[Goblin crypt, bro!] in the northern village, the easiest trail dungeon for us.
"Enlighten me?" Aryan asked.
[Waitt!! You don't know about the goblin crypt! [Are you living under a stone or something, bro?]
"Tell me in 25 words or less." Aryan paused before a mischievous smile appeared on his face. "Or maybe a certain someone will know you have a crush on her."
[You bastard!! That's why I don't like to share my secrets.
Anyway, Goblin Crypt is a trial dungeon, or, let's say, a small dungeon with only 20 floors. If you kill the monsters there, you will get some good drops that you can use to exchange for money, and if you are lucky enough to kill a boss, then you can even get a small-grade treasure.
"Treasure!!" Just hearing this name was enough for Aryan's sleepy face to change into an excited one.
"Where are they?!?" Aryan asked in a deep voice.
You mean the north village? It's in the north. [Do you want me to book a transport waggon?]
"Do it, and tell them vengeance is arriving " Aryan said in a sour voice.
I will do whatever you mean by that. [Just meet me at 10 a.m. in the city centre.]
"I am Batman!" Aryan said before disconnecting the call.
After he was done with his routine, Aryan packed his necessities and a few new pieces of equipment that he brought yesterday from Whale's shop and left for the city centre. To his surprise, when Aryan reached the city centre, Sen and Aahana were already waiting for him.
"I thought only we two were going on the mission, not that I mind more workforce for the help anyway." Aryan smiled while he punched Sen in the back.
"You are the one that I thought wouldn't arrive. By the way, how's your health now? "Are you sure you will be fine on a mission, right?" Aahana asked, looking at Aryan.
"My health!! What happened to me... I mean, I am standing fine in front of you." Aryan asked, looking around his body.
"Huh!! But Sen told me you were chanting some weird language in a sour voice this morning." Aahana asked in amusement.
"Oh, did he? I don't know, maybe just some signal problem." Aryan made up an excuse in embarrassment while thinking of his actions this morning.
"Alright, guys, we will continue our little chat on the way; let's just move fast for now or we will miss our seat," Sen said, pointing at the station.
The station was similar to any train station on Earth, but a little more practical and less fancy. Except for the orange colour of the marble stone walls and the absence of loudspeakers, the infrastructure was divided into four platforms, and each platform was a constantly tube-shaped vehicle that ran on tracks leading to a different village. The three of them went to the northern track and waited for their vehicle to arrive.
It didn't take long for a blue tube-shaped vehicle to stop on their platform; the vehicle was barely the size of a bus without any kind of window or ventilators, and its reflective blue colour was reflecting the sunlight. As soon as the vehicle stood on the track, a white line appeared on its wall, making a door-like structure before it slid down to make a path for the passenger.
Although Aryan was very amused by the scenery in front of him, he still made sure not to let his expressions appear on his face. All he needed to do for now was stay behind Sen and follow what he did. That way, he would be able to learn more about this world without attracting any unnecessary attention.
"So what happened to the other two of your friends?" "Aren't they coming along?" Aryan asked Sen while taking a seat in front of him.
"Ahh...well... You see, those guys went to the 4th floor of the dungeon to collect some herbs; although collecting herbs gives you quite a lot of points and money as well, it's not an easy job." Sen proceeded with a proud expression. "At least not for those clans who don't have walking encyclopaedias like Ruyi."
"Kool, so we three are the only ones here to challenge the level 5 boss of Goblin Crypt," Aryan said with a somewhat disappointed complexion.
"Naah !! Do I look like a moron to you or something something?" Sen said with a smirk. "I have already searched the internet and hired two guys for the job too; I was also considerate to find those with battle experience on the 5th floor."
Sean rubbed his cheeks with a smile on his face, as if he were expecting praise or something.
"Are you really that dumb?" Aryan asked in amusement.
"What?!? " Sen looked at him with a confused expression.
"You hired some guy on an online platform for some real-life missions, like really! At least you are not stupid enough to pay them online." Aryan concluded.
"Ahh... Well, I did pay them half of the sum. But don't worry, I will only pay another half after the mission is done." Sen said he was trying to cover up the situation.
Hearing this, all Aryan could do was slap his forehead at his friends' smart actions.
"His money is his problem," Aryan thought internally.
For the next fifteen minutes, Aryan just waited for the transport vehicle to reach its destination while looking outside at the mountains. Even though there weren't any windows if one looked from the outside, from inside, it was almost as if the whole sidewall were transparent.
After taking its sweet time, the vehicle finally arrived at another station, but unlike the one in the city, this one was far less crowded and underdeveloped. When Aryan came out of the station, he could see a large row of houses made with classic hut-pattern roofs, elders walking on roads, and children running around. While several adventurers moved towards a particular building on the village side.
If not for what he saw in Patliputra, this was definitely what would come to mind if he imagined a magical world. A charming blue sky, birds chirping, and development like the 18th-century world on Earth.
The moment Aryan arrived in the village, he felt like he had time travelled from a 21st-century, classically developed world to a small city in 18th-century Europe or something. Although this did look pleasant to the eye, it also revealed the dark secret hidden beneath. Unlike a world based on science, which gave everyone fair and equal opportunities, magic was something that varied from person to person. While they developed more and more around themselves, the weak were just looked down upon. On first sight of the village, Aryans could say that this place was just abundant in hierarchy.
While Aryan was busy in his thoughts, a hand on his shoulder broke out of his daze.
"Hello, there, friend! My name is Drake, and I am depressed."
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