The lion looked back once again, but this time at the beautiful elf behind him, who gave a nod before raising her hands slowly into the air, her palms glowing with a soft brown light.
CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.
The sound of rumbling and cracking echoed through the room as everyone felt a sudden shift beneath them. Instinctively, they bent their knees, bracing for impact. The room began moving upwards, and soon the humans recognised the sensation—it was like being inside an elevator.
"As newcomers, you will now reside on the first level of Reincarnation Paradise, called THE SLUMS," the lion declared. "To ascend to a higher level, you must travel to at least five different worlds, and have a minimum of two attribute points distributed across your attributes."
With his final words, the lion fell silent, leaving the room in anticipation. The ascent continued for another minute before it finally came to a halt. The elf lowered her glowing hands, and the lion, flanked by his two assistants, stepped down from the platform. They approached the massive grey stone doors of the chamber, which the lion pushed open with ease.
"I welcome you all to your new home!" he roared as the giant doors swung outward, revealing the outside world to the newcomers.
It was a dark, oppressive atmosphere. The sky above was a canopy of dark grey stone. From the centre of the vast underground city rose an enormous circular tower made of stone, stretching from the ground to the high ceiling. The room the newcomers had emerged from was located at the base of this colossal tower. As the humans exited, the stone doors closed behind them, and the room they had just left sank back into the ground, concealed by the same dark grey stone.
Ali scanned the surroundings, immediately noticing the massive tower. Thousands of people carrying primitive weapons—swords and spears—moved around its base. Five large, colour-coded buildings surrounded the tower in a circular formation, bustling with activity as people entered and exited.
Beyond the central tower, Ali saw tall apartment buildings made from the same grey stone. The streets leading to these structures were illuminated by tall lamps casting a yellowish glow on the otherwise bleak landscape. Despite his enhanced vision, Ali couldn't see the end of this sprawling underground city, as the grey stone buildings seemed to stretch on indefinitely.
Suddenly, the newcomers were startled by a mental alert from their interface. Ali opened his to find a new message displayed: "Residence at 7-22."
Ali glanced up at the apartment buildings, each engraved with large numbers. After a brief search, he located building number seven, far from the central tower. The other newcomers were similarly notified of their assigned residences.
The lion and his assistants left without another word, heading off to their own duties. Once they were gone, five distinct groups approached the newcomers. Each group was dressed in clothing that matched the colors of the five large buildings surrounding the tower, with badges on their chests signifying their affiliation.
"Everyone, I know this situation is overwhelming, but our Fire Guild is here to help guide you through it," announced the leader of the group clad in red.
"Follow the guidance of the Stone Guild to improve your chances of survival!" shouted the man leading the brown-clad group.
'Hungry wolves circling fresh prey,' Ali thought, watching the groups vie for recruits. Quietly, he slipped away from the crowd and found a stone bench at the edge of the clearing around the tower. Most of the benches were occupied, except for one where a giant, grey-haired man sat with drooping eyes that betrayed his age. Ali sat at the other end of the bench, observing the flow of people entering and exiting the buildings.
He noticed that the fittest men and women from the batch, along with a few who seemed to possess certain special talents, were being recruited by the guilds.
'It looks like they lucked out with him,' Ali mused as he watched the military man walk off with the Stone Guild, the guild members smiling and praising their new recruit. 'The vixen and the fat guy didn't join a guild, though,' he noted, continuing his silent observation.
The old man sitting next to him opened his eyes and glanced at Ali with mild surprise.
"Do you need something, old man?" Ali asked, still looking ahead.
"Oh no, you just remind me of someone I met a long time ago," the old man replied in a deep, gravelly voice.
"They call this place the slums, where the weakest live. So why are *you* here?" Ali asked coldly, finally turning his gaze toward the old man.
The old man chuckled, slightly taken aback. "You've got a good eye for a newcomer. You're right—I don't live down here. I came to visit an old friend during my time off. He's busy right now, so I'm just sitting here, watching the new blood walk into their graveyard."
Ali raised an eyebrow. "Graveyard?"
The old man gave a slow nod. "That's right. Most of those who came with you will die during their first mission to another world, especially the ones not picked up by a guild. But for people like you, this is an arena—an opportunity to either thrive or die in glory."
They both went silent for a moment, watching the newcomers being led into the guild buildings.
"In the slums, there are five guilds—the guilds of the five elements: Fire, Water, Stone, Air, and Nature. These are the most ancient guilds in Reincarnation Paradise, and they're the only ones rich enough to set up shop down here. They pay huge amounts of Paradise Coins to open branches in the slums, so they can snap up talent before anyone else. But their monopoly made them too powerful, so the guilds at the higher levels of Paradise started suffering from a lack of fresh recruits. The officials decided to introduce a new rule—only for the guilds in the slums. The contracts they offer can only last while you're in the slums. If you ascend to a higher level, the contract becomes void, and you're free to join another guild or stay with them. It's just one way Paradise keeps balance. But don't be fooled—there's plenty of chaos mixed in too. You never know what to expect from this place."
Ali shrugged. "That's interesting and all, but it doesn't really help me right now. Got anything more useful, or should I just figure it out on my own?"
The old man laughed heartily. "Ungrateful bastard, aren't you? Alright then, how about this?"
He nodded toward the shops between the guild buildings. "You see your friends over there entering those stores?"
Ali glanced at the shops and gave a nod.
"They're buying little books that give vague information about the worlds they might travel to. Rookie mistake. Those books are a scam. The information in them is barely worth the money. But it shows you how important information is in Paradise. Knowing things can give you an edge, especially those who remember certain worlds from their past lives. They can use their knowledge of characters, future events, and hidden treasures to get ahead. They often end up with the highest mission scores."
Ali nodded thoughtfully. "You're right. If they know everything about the world, it'll be tough to compete. They'll grab everything first."
"Don't worry too much, though. Knowledge isn't always enough. Many many Years ago, I was sent to a world with three thousand other players. Everyone knew where the mission's goal was. In the end, they all killed each other until only one was left standing," the old man said darkly. He stood up, revealing his immense size—easily twice Ali's height—and began walking toward the Stone Guild.
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Five extra chapters on patreon.com/Rondo312