Spawning into the beginner village, Connor's mind immediately focuses as he assesses the area he is currently located, before making his way to the side of the village square.
Connor opens all of his capsule edition bonuses, obtaining himself an uncommon longsword that increased his VIT, something he was mildly happy about, as well as selecting a costume similar to Tyrell.
His costume is slightly bulkier than what Tyrell selected with larger pauldrons and greaves. Its colour scheme is also similar with the plates coloured in a glistening white, however the trim was in red. His longsword and shield are quite similar to Russel's, however instead of the motif featuring a dragon, it is instead features a phoenix. The swords handle was shaped like a phoenix with the blade protruding from its open mouth, while the metal round shield displays a relief of a phoenix with its wings raised.
Happy with his new look, extra supplies, and intriguing blue egg with white spots, Connor proceeds to close the systems quest prompt directing him to the first NPC character in the tutorial who was currently surrounded by a number of new players who had just spawned in, and instead walks up the guard next to the village gate.
"Excuse me sir guard, can you point me in the direction of Haligrad?"
Surprised by Connors appearance, the guard looks at him with scrutiny while resting his hand on his sword.
"Who are you? How did you get into the village?"
Seeing the guard becoming cautious, Connor raises his hands as he tries to think what to say.
"Oh, sorry for startling you! I am Connor, I just arrived here a minute ago. I am a… god, what did Chester say we were? *ahem*. I am an immortal adventurer; I am quite new to all this so you will have to excuse my uncertainty."
Hearing this, a look of surprise appears on the guard's face as he starts to nod in understanding.
"Ah, so it's today you immortal lot are arriving! The village chief mentioned you would be arriving soon but didn't know when. Well, you are quite lucky because Haligrad is only an hour walk west from this village. Just follow the road here straight and you will arrive."
Hearing the guard's response, Connor could only thank his luck that his spawn is so close to where he needs to be. Thinking of his reaction if his spawn was at the western border, he can only think of a long slew of curses he would shout to the sky.
Asking the guard about any enemies he could encounter on the way, Connor started jogging towards Haligrad.
Around halfway on the trip Connor took a slight detour from the path to an area that had a number of boulders scattered around, a place that the guard had mentioned to him where enemies spawned.
The enemies in this area consisted of slimes of Lv 1-2. They were weak blobs of jelly that gave little XP, but Chester had recommended to everyone spending a short time fighting them if encountered to get used to the weapons and skills they can use.
Connor spent around half an hour hunting slimes in the location, only encountering 12 which had managed to raise his level to Lv 2, 45%. By the time he had killed his 12th, a couple of other players had started hunting for slimes in the area and the chance to encounter enemies had significantly dropped.
Feeling happy that he was at least able to hit the slimes with every swing, even if they were slow and his swings often miss the core at the centre of the gelatinous blob, Connor continues on his trip to Haligrad. Arriving at the front gates in only an hour and quarter and now at Lv 2, he found himself a nearby bench to quickly rest at to allow his accumulated fatigue to reduce.
In this time, Connor went through and recalls his current plans while in Haligrad.
First, everyone in the group was tasked with going to search for a satchel in the deep water of the docks. Chester had explained that somewhere near the end of the main quay there will be a satchel containing a number of gold coins and a unique piece of jewellery. He did not know the exact location, but he said it would be within a 20 meter radius.
The satchel is to be the groups starting funds and should allow them enough money to cover the base necessities for everyone's tasks.
Connors next task is to acquire a list of items that he has memorised. These items are all related to quests that can be encountered within the city of Haligrad and need to be completed for their plans.
The final part of his list of tasks in Haligrad is to meet up with everyone in the main temple tomorrow evening and officially form their guild.
After 10 minutes recalling all the details while enjoying the unique and refreshing medieval city with the gentle salty sea breeze caressing its streets, Connor finally stands up from his bench and follows the main thoroughfare from the eastern gate towards the castle, taking a turn to the west following a wide street that slopes down towards the sea.
After around half an hour of walking using the systems map to help guide him through the streets of Haligrad, Connor finally makes his way out from the buildings that remind him of pictures from Havana in Cuba, onto the wide docks which line the inside of the bay Haligrad was situated.
Looking around, Connor could quite easily locate the main quay made from stone rising 2 metres above the water, reaching further into the bay that any of the others around him.
Quickly making his way towards the end of the long stone structure, he received a few glances from the dock workers who found it strange for a armour clad adventurer to be on the quay. Arriving at the end, he quickly removes his equipment just leaving his common trousers on before jumping into the water.
Connor starts methodically scouring the 10 meter deep water around the quay, using some medium sized stones he had previously collected while killing slimes to mark where he had been, covering a decent distance every time he dove under the clear blue water.
After around a hour of searching, Connor had managed to cover 1/8th of the specified area before seeing a familiar figure at the end of the docks waving over to him.
Russel also made it to Haligrad quickly and is now sitting at the end of the pier as Connor swims over.
"Aay, no luck yet?"
Hearing this, Connor let out a sigh as he steadies himself against the rocks of the quay.
"Nope, been bitten by crabs, but I have not encountered the satchel. I have covered this area; can you start from that side?"
Connor and Russel were not that close, having met online through Chester a number of times, and only meeting face to face for the first time 2 days ago, they can be considered as friends but have not had the time to properly form a string bond like he had with many of the others.
With a nod, Russel starts to take off his armour with a struggle.
"Got it. Man, I might need to borrow some extra stones in a little while, there was not that much I could find on the way here."
With that Russel jumped into the water and began searching from the other side of the quay opposite to where Connor was.
After another hour Ben and Marie had also arrived, joining the search. With all 4 of them now here, the search took a lot less time, finding the large satchel in the last area they had to check.
Climbing back onto the pier and lending Russel who was struggling a hand, Connor let out a sigh of exasperation while sitting down.
"Of course, it was located in the last area we had to search. So annoyingly typical."
With a laugh, Ben commented.
"Well, at least we got it now. Shall we head to the next stop?"
Seeing that everyone was avoiding talking about the elephant in the room, Marie decided to speak up.
"So… umm… before that… Ben, is what Fortuna said true?"
Letting out a deep sigh, Ben shook his head out of exasperation.
"Look, I'm not entirely sure myself. I assume that she told you Chester and I had a conversation about time travel which is true, but the whole sex change and that crap? I still need to sort out my own thoughts about this all. Shits just too damn crazy right now and it will be better if we wait for everyone to arrive before we talk about this. Especially Chester himself."
Hearing this response, Connor crosses his arms as he speaks.
"Wait, so you are saying that what Fortuna said is likely to be true? What's this about time travel anyway."
Waving his hand as he pulls out his shirt from his inventory, Ben tiredly answers Connor's curiosity.
"Long story short, yes, everything so far points that it's true. I had shares in a company, however a few weeks ago Chester accurately predicted what problems the company would face, as well as the rough time frame and the impact to share price. It's the kind of prediction impossible to make unless it's an inside job. Look, I will explain what I know with everyone later. True or not, we have tasks to complete right now. Chester should be here later, so let's ask him more at that time."