"To reach the tower's heights, a seeker must strive,
Three keys, disparate, yet they all must arrive.
Gathered together, their union made strong,
To the red island, they journey along.
Unlock the path to ascend, they hold the power,
These keys, when combined, unlock the Ascending Tower." Arun said. He had lost count of how many times Adam had instructed him to repeat the riddle. He was stuck there, he could not say no to the old man in any way, especially not after he had personally seen what the man could do.
They had been traveling for a week. And in that time he came to know the strength of the old man in a better way. And from what he could tell, he could not even fathom the depth of strength that the old man had. He had seen 8 a tall bird being destroyed by the old man, who used just a Kukuri knife. He had seen the old man throw a ball of fire towards the group of 8-9 goblins and incinerate them into nothingness. The old man was very strong.
And from what he could tell, he had become his bitch.
There was no other way to see it. After the first night, the old man started barking orders at him as if he were his servant. Under his supervised vision, Arun would create tents, cook food, and tend the horses. While the old man would just simply sit around, chewing on the sweet grass that grows in the world.
And in that time, the old man had told him to repeat the riddle over and over again. From what he could tell, the old man was pretty serious about getting to the next floor. Sometimes Adam would ask him questions about Eart. And would ask what kind of life do people of that world have. According to the old man, Democracy seemed like the most absurd and stupidest idea that one could ever come up with.
But even with all the charades, it was not like Arun was not getting anything out…
"So, does someone become strong like you?" he asked Adam, one fine evening.
"Level up," The old man said, "That is the only way that any being can become strong in this world,"
"I am leveling up… I just thought that you might have some extra tips for me,"
"There are no tips to this boy," The old man said, "You reap what you sow. From what I get, this is a game world for you guys, right? The more dangerous situation you find yourself in, the stronger would you become, if you manage to survive it,"
"Doesn't it bother you?" he asked, "The truth about the world, I mean,"
"Nope. Dont care about it enough," the old man said, and that bothered him a little bit.
Arun in no way was a trained psychologist. But if he were in the shoes of the people of this world, and if he were to find out that the life he had been living so far is not even real, he suspect that he might have lost it. But strangely people of this world dont have any reaction to the information. He knows because he had asked Calux about it. And according to that man, no one in this world has a problem with it.
This phenomenon made him question whether the people living in this world are even real. Or were they just puppets, being controlled by someone chugging energy in their mom's basement?
And that was not all that he got from the old man. He got one very strange and big news from the old man…
One night during dinner time, Adam and he started talking about the strongest beast in this world. One thing led to another, and they started strengths of the City Lords. Then the old man spoke something, that he had a hard time digesting, "So you are saying that you are stronger than all of the great City Lords?" the old man nodded, "I dont believe you,"
"Well you dont have to," Adam said, "But that is the truth,"
"If that is the case, why are you not a City Lord?" he asked. And that was a genuine thing that could happen. In this world, where strength lies paramount, people with exceptional levels are chosen to be City Lords. And one can dethrone any city lord just by challenging them. Which is why he knew that the old man was bluffing.
"I didnt want to have the burden of the whole city under me. That is why I didnt become city lord."
"Sounds convenient," he said.
"It is not convenient… I am a solo adventurer. It makes sense that I am stronger than the rest of them," the old man argued. But that did raise some questions in his mind.
"How does being a Solo Adventurer equate to being strong?" he asked.
"You dont know?" the old man asked, astonished for some reason, "I thought that you knew… so you have been hunting alone for no reason?"
"What are you talking about old man?"'
As it turns out, being a solo hunter in this world was an extremely dangerous and lucrative thing. From what Adam explained to him, the only way to get stronger in this world is to level up. And then increase your stats. Native people of this world, especially Adventurers, can increase their stats with a special stone that they can get access to once they reach Copper-Rank. But here lies the trick, that most people know, but it is too dangerous to implement.
In order to get more stat points from every level up, one needs to kill solo or by as few teammates as they can have. The system has a way of awarding exp to a party based on their contribution. But if there is no one in your party, not only you would level up fast but also have more stat points than others who are working in parties.
According to the old man, he was very strong compared to other players, because he had been hunting alone for that long…
***
After seven days of travel, they finally reached their destination. Lando was a simple city, which meant that it didnt have a 16 feet tall wall protecting it. Instead, the city had placed many towers around it, that would sound a horn if a beast or a monster made its way toward the city. It was not a very effective way, but it was the only thing that they could do.
Arun was especially looking forward to coming to the city because he felt that he would have a better chance to get the old man off his tail in the city. But contrary to his expectations, the old man asked him to get out of his sight, before they could enter the city. And the old man didnt just let him go,
"The quiver that you have." the old man said, "Store it in your inventory. That is a special quiver that one can find in dungeons by the humans. That is how I was able to tell that you are an Earthling. Hide it." And the old man just took off, deeper into the city, leaving him on the border….