With this conversation, all the mysteries began to unravel. Everything was Violet's scheme.
"Now it all makes sense... you recruited at the starting point to find people just like you. And your sudden kindness was to bring us into your guild, wasn't it?"
"This game is all about combat. Not many people choose production roles. I want to nurture you and make you a vital part of our future strength!" She thrusts the contract we signed earlier into my face, shouting, "You've already signed the contract! There's no escaping now!"
"Is this some kind of loan sharking?" Her tactics are unscrupulous. She's really saying some outrageous things. I never knew she had this side to her...
As I complain under my breath, Ivy steps in to soothe the situation. "Lenny... let's join Violet's guild! She's helped us so much!"
"Well...hmm." It's true, Violet has been incredibly helpful. I genuinely want to repay that kindness. Besides, I'm not picky about which guild to join. If she can lead me to Eldon, it might not be a bad idea to trust her.
"Fine... but you must promise to take me to Eldon."
"I promise! I'll make you a capable fighter and present you to Eldon myself!"
"Present me?"
Violet's excitement seems a bit strange now. With this, she officially becomes my mentor, leaving me with a strange mix of feelings. As our discussion wraps up, I start to become conscious of the time.
I'm a high school student, and staying up late to the point of dozing off in class is simply unacceptable. If my serious reputation crumbles, it would disrupt my peaceful school life. I never wanted to live a flashy, attention-seeking existence.
"Well, we've wrapped up our discussion, so I'll log out now. It's been a while, hasn't it? There's school tomorrow, so I really need to get some sleep..."
It feels like five hours have passed already. I'm not actually tired, but that's probably because the sun hasn't set in the game world.
I suspect that my body is experiencing a false perception of time. But according to Violet, that's not the case.
"Don't worry, one hour in this world equals fifteen minutes in reality. So that means four hours here only counts as one hour in the real world. From midnight to six AM is one day, six AM to noon is another, noon to six PM is yet another, and six PM to midnight is one more day. Right now, it's 1 PM here, which means it's 9:15 AM in the real world."
It's just one hour in reality, yet four hours here… Is this that system I've been hearing about? I can't quite wrap my head around it.
When I decide to tune out and stop participating in the conversation, Ivy takes over with Violet.
"I logged in at the same time as Lenny, around 8 PM."
"In this world, that means you logged in at 8 AM. It's complicated, but it's best to get a grip on the sense of time. On school days, I recommend logging in at 8 PM in reality and logging out at 11:30 PM. Here, that translates to being active from 8 AM to 10 PM. By the way, that's just my experience."
The peak login times here are nicely aligned with the daily activity schedule. It's well thought out...
"When we do a late-night raid, I skip club activities and log in at 6 PM. In this world, that means I'm logging in at midnight."
"Ah... that's helpful!"
I don't have club activities, so I could log in at 6 or 7 PM, but that would mean it's already late at night here. Logging in earlier definitely requires some thought.
However, I can't quite grasp this manipulation of in-game time. Is it the fact that I'm using that system that creates such a significant gap in my understanding?
Having decided to join the guild, we begin discussing our future plans.
I'm not trying to brag, but honestly, I haven't thought at all about what exactly I'm going to do next. As a complete beginner, I feel lost and can't figure out how to achieve my goals.
For now, I can only rely on Violet. It's clear that joining her guild was the right choice after all.
"I used up this morning, so let's spend the rest of the time shopping and leveling up. Tomorrow, we'll set off for the capital, Viridian, where my guild headquarters is. Make sure you're fully prepared!"
Wait, Violet has a guild headquarters while running the guild all on her own?
What mattered to us more than future plans was the fact itself.
"Is there a guild headquarters?"
"It's not made of cardboard, right?"
"...Little Ivy, I'm going to punch you!"
"I'm sorry..."
Ivy had said something incredibly rude, and even Violet looked genuinely upset. Ivy, you really talk too much...
Violet led Ivy and me to a bustling shopping district. In this town, there were five types of shops: tools, weapons and armor, materials, food, and skills. In larger cities, shops are usually more specialized, but here they were more generalized.
I wanted to buy healing potions, but what I really needed most right now was invention materials. Without skill techniques, all I could do was swing a wrench, and that wouldn't make much of a difference in battle.
"For now, I'll buy the cheapest materials. I also want to use the invention job," I said.
"I'll buy you the materials," Violet offered.
"I'll buy them myself. If I rely on you, I'll just become dependent," I replied.
For the early enemies, cheap materials should be enough to hold my own. That way, I could fight without relying on Violet and wouldn't need to accept charity. Asking a woman for money was simply out of the question.
For a little while, we would have the freedom to act on our own.
Ivy headed towards the weapon and armor shop while I made my way to the materials store. I scanned the displayed items, feeling disinterested in Ivy items dropped from plants and monsters. What I really needed was iron—without it, there was no point in using the mechanical engineer.
My eyes quickly fell on the pitch-black gunpowder and the scraps of iron that looked like trash. With these two items, I'd have enough for now. "To make an Ivy item like a grenade, I need one scrap of iron and one gunpowder. Is that all the information from Violet?"
Ivy items become available for invention as soon as the necessary materials are obtained. Normally, you gather materials while adventuring and gradually unlock new skills. However, I had asked Violet for the required materials and purchased them early on so I could use the skills right away. With two women around, I figured it was time to stand out.
"Still, the materials are expensive..." The Ivy items crafted by mechanical engineers are said to have excellent performance. But a major drawback is that only three jobs—mechanical engineer, gunner, and merchant—can even make use of them. On top of that, the high cost of materials can be staggering. Unlike the alchemists who can brew recovery potions from cheap herbs, the resources needed for crafting weapons often turn out to be more costly than the weapons themselves.
However, I wasn't fully stocked with Ivy items for serious production just yet. All I needed were the materials to utilize my invention. I bought two pieces of scrap metal and two explosives—this should allow me to create a grenade.
"Now, it all depends on strategy..."
After purchasing the materials, I headed to the weapons and armor shop, specifically to buy a particular accessory. It was the cheapest accessory available, and its performance was nothing special, but I had an effective use for it in mind.
Leaving the shop, I made my way to the fountain plaza for our meeting. Thanks to the starting money I received at the game's launch, I was able to gather everything I aimed for. Though my cash was down to a single digit, defeating monsters would surely replenish my funds.
However, that left me with no money for healing potions. I needed to be cautious with my remaining Life points and aim to avoid unnecessary fights. Just as I was pondering this,
"Hey, you! Stop!"
A sudden voice rang out. I hadn't done anything to warrant being called out. Surely it was directed at someone else. Thinking this, I decided to ignore the shout.
"I said stop! Are you mocking me?"
"Uh... Me?"
To my surprise, I realized I was the one being addressed. Confused, I turned around to face the voice's owner. A man with silver long hair stood before me, draped in a pure white cloak adorned with star-shaped ornaments, and the cloak's inner lining displayed a beautiful night sky. Given the ostentatious nature of his attire, it was clear that all of his equipment was top-tier.
What surprised me most were the countless stars shimmering within Iris. I had seen many players in the city, but not a single one had eyes like that. I interpreted it as an option only available to top-tier players. From him, I sensed the formidable presence of an extraordinary warrior.
"Boy! Why do you think the stars shine?"
It was an abrupt question from such a powerful figure. Caught off guard, I blurted out something half-heartedly.
"Um... because they're burning?"
"You fool! They clearly indicate the path we must take!"
"Uh... well..."
I had only answered the question, but his fury seemed disproportionate. I thought my response was decent, but it clearly didn't meet his approval.
The man raised his voice and began to express his philosophy loudly.
"The stars are humanity's guiding beacons! They embody the hopes of the people! They represent the infinite possibilities that stretch across the vast universe!"
"Well, when you put it that way..."
"Silence! I am speaking now!"
What am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to just listen? Even if I did, I didn't understand a word he was saying. More importantly, why was he telling me all this?
"The birth of the universe was about 15 billion years ago! It is said that this history began with the great explosion known as the Big Bang! Countless nebulae were born! They collided! They gathered! And gradually took the shape of planets!"
"Uh, well, that's—"
"Shut up! It doesn't mean anything!"
Wow... this person is out of control...
Did they really grab me just to ramble about nothing? I'm shocked.
"Everything is as the stars twinkle! Everything is according to the will of the great universe! Boy! Your legendary saga of the galaxy is just beginning! Galaxy!"
After spouting his nonsensical speech, he seemed satisfied and walked away.
I was left standing there, utterly dumbfounded.
"What just happened...?"
I decided to forget the whole bizarre incident.
I really want to reunite with Violet and the others... I feel so exhausted.
In the real world, it was 9:30 PM, while in the world of [Deepguard], it was 2 PM. I made my way to join Violet and the others at a restaurant.
Now that I was here, surely we would have lunch. But could we actually eat in this virtual sky? Then again, I had eaten herbs this morning. Logically, it should be possible.
As if answering my question, Violet unfolded the menu.
"Alright, today it's my treat to celebrate your joining us! Dig in!"
It seemed we could indeed eat more than just herbs.
A wooden table was set with forks and knives, confirming that this was truly a restaurant.
"So we can actually have a meal here," I noted.
"I can do it. But once we're back in the real world, I'll be starving again," she said.
"Wait, does that mean if you don't eat, you'll starve to death?"
"Absolutely. By the way, if I die, I come back feeling full."
"What do you mean... by that?"