"GAHHHH!!!" Alex jolted awake, drenched in sweat. It was the middle of the night, and only a few milliseconds had passed in the real world.
"Wow... I spent almost 8 hours in the simulation, but here... huh." He looked up and saw the system prompt.
~~
[Calculating your rewards...
Rewards are calculated.
Defeating 6 Trojan warriors:18 Spirit Stones
Giving Greeks an advantage in battle: Soul Elixir
Defeating Hector: 3 Ranks upgrade, 300 Spirit Stones, Book of Absolutism]
~~
BUSH!!!
Smoke appeared, and Alex found the rewards materializing beside him.
"Huh... SHIT!!! AGGHH!!!" Alex tried to stay quiet as he felt a searing red energy coursing through him. The pain was excruciating, so intense that he had to bite his lips to keep from screaming.
"GAHHHH!!! FUCK!!!" He yelled out in agony.
When he looked around, no one had stirred. Alex sighed in relief.
~~
[You have reached the first rank.]
~~
[You have reached the second rank.]
~~
[You have reached the third rank.]
~~
"AGH..." Alex looked around, perceiving the world with newfound clarity. Red dots seemed to hover around him, and he felt he could attract them or make them vanish at will.
"Looks like I also remember the Fireball spell." Alex looked up and closed the prompts.
"But what are these ranks, anyway? Let's check out the other rewards." He turned his attention to the items behind him.
BANG!!!
One Spirit Stone fell, a beautiful, shimmering blue rock about 5 centimeters in diameter. Mesmerized by its core, Alex immediately stored it in his pouch, which could hold only about 30 stones. He then a yarn bag to fit the rest of the stones. he also put the elexirs there.
"Now, this book." Alex eagerly opened the Book of Absolutism.
"It describes the ranks!!!" He turned to the relevant page.
~~
[To Magos, ranks are the most crucial aspect of their existence. Feeling the spark in the air is akin to the world embracing you. It's a comforting sensation...]
~~
Alex skimmed through the less relevant parts and found the key information. he wanted.
~~
[Magos Ranks:
Apprentice
Intermediate
Magus
Saint
Ranks 1-3 are Apprentice ranks.
Ranks 4-6 are Intermediate ranks.
Ranks 7-9 are Magus ranks.
The 10th rank is Saint-like, an incredibly powerful status akin to a god. Few have achieved this, including the renowned Heracles.]
~~
"I see now... So, I'm currently at the Apprentice rank," Alex mused, noting the different Magic Systems like Dynamis and Theoi but to read about them later. he never met them.
"This is intriguing. It looks like the rank above 10 is considered god-like. Heracles did become a god in real life. Anyway, I need a wash to relieve this stress."
--
Next Day
BFFGGGGG!!!
The carriage rumbled towards the capital.
"AGAIN, BOYS!!!" Soldiers sang and laughed as they drank.
"ONE TWO THREE!!!
WHEN THE TIME COMES TO DRINK!!!
WE WILL TAKE THE WINE TO THE SKY
AND GET DRUNK AS WE DELIGHT!!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!"
They cheered and sang together.
"DRINK!!!! HAHAHA ALEX, YOU'RE A GREAT DRINKER, MAN!!!" Alex joined in, drinking to forget the stress from the Life Simulation. Despite knowing little about the people around him, he was certain they were good-hearted and worth befriending.
"Come on—hip... man, let's toast..." He leaned on Gard for a toast.
"Brother... hahaha hahaha, you're not gonna—hip... beat me..." Gard replied, as laughter filled the air.
On the riding seat, there was Captain, Adam. Next to him was an old man pulling the horses.
"Sonny, why aren't you having fun with them." He asked smiling.
"Hahahaha, old man I have drunk enough already..." Adam responded with a smile.
"Ohhh... you seem very conflicted." The old man responded.
"Huh? how did you know." Adam was a good actor, he could pull out the perfect calm face.
The old man turned to the horses "When you get old like me, experience life's softness and hardness, you gain some insight..." He said this with a smile.
Adam was fascinated "I see... it's just... they..." He looked back "They are so happy right now when we went to this mission, we didn't even know if we would come back... the orders from above... fuckers... they just gave me one platoon to manage, cheaply made swords and bearly any artillery..." Adam sighed.
"Then?" The old man asked.
"I felt like I was a bad captain, I was never scared of death, but when I thought I could take all those people here to grave with me, I was terrified, I didn't want to do this mission, I didn't want to endanger all of them..." Adam looked up in the sky.
"Looks like you didn't right?..." The old man asked.
"Yes... we succeded, we managed to get through this mission... I can only thank Gods for that." Adam answered smiling.
The old man squinted his eyes and said "Let me give you advice sonny, in life, there are flowers you can get, but when those flowers wilt, rather than concentrating on the well, you need to remember the beauty of it." He asked Adam.
"Now do you feel afraid your flowers are gonna wilt?"
"I... don't know." Adam looked back and answered.
"Then find out, and truly become the good person you are..." After this, everyone here was silent.
"PSshhhhhhh..." A few hours later, the soldiers, drunk and tired, fell asleep. Alex leaned on different people, dozing off on their arms or hands.
It was a peaceful scene, with everyone smiling.
Adam looked down at the sleeping soldiers, then walked away from the carriage. He pulled out a fabric and created a makeshift camp, carefully moving each person inside.
Looking up at the sky, he sighed contentedly. "It's a nice night."
The sky was clear, with countless stars shining brightly. Adam watched the celestial display until he too fell asleep.
--
In the middle of the night, Alex awoke to relieve himself. As he did, he accessed the system.
"Hm, let's see..." He pulled out the interface, squinting at the bright light.
~~
[Mythology Simulation System
Start the simulation?
Life Simulator - Y/NPrompt Simulator - Y/NSummon Simulator - Y/N]
~~
"Prompt Simulation..." Alex selected the option, pleased.
"Looks like I still have some coins left..." He clicked the button while finishing his business, glancing around curiously.
"Huh?"
End of Chapter.