Cores were the currency inside the Story World, the more you had, the better it was. The better the quality you had, the better it was for you.
Cores weren't just considered money inside the Story World, literally, everything worked through them. Anyone living inside the Story World used the Story System.
Whether the story they owned was theirs, someone else's, or anything else, to activate its abilities and defend yourself, or do anything with it, you needed cores.
The system paid a certain amount of cores to the person daily, depending on their Rank of power, and how famous they were, it would pay them accordingly.
Gara was a Rank F Player, the weakest rank there was inside the Story World, he got paid 10 green cores daily, the lowest grade of cores there was.
Fortunately, he worked as a Story Guide and earned a ton of cores doing so, if he didn't, it would be hard for him to become stronger or do anything.
To advance in rank, you needed to reach a certain fame, but also be strong enough, and finally, pay a certain amount.
Gara was very close to advancing to E Rank, but still needed a bit more. He didn't think he would get the chance while challenging the [Ice Ninja] Fragment.
Suddenly, while Gara was talking with the Red Dragon Marcus, he noticed an increase in core output out of nowhere.
'Are Readers flocking to watch the show?' He wondered inside his thoughts.
Readers could gift cores to Players asking them to perform certain things, otherwise, if there was a big increase in viewers, the Story System would reward the Players by giving them bonus cores.
Their daily output could also be increased depending on how many viewers watched, and how much they enjoyed the show.
Something like this had happened before to Gara, and his daily core output had increased from 7 to 10.
'Can it happen again?' A smile appeared on his face before he returned to the conversation with Marcus.
The Red Dragon had just declared his dream proudly, and the shock still hadn't left the blue-haired young man's mind just yet.
"You want to become as famous as [Informant Z]? And the [Traveler]?" Asked Gara to confirm. The Dragon gave a simple nod in reply.
This incited the Readers to go crazy and call on their friends to come and watch the show. The Reciter of the Fragment wasn't as shocked.
He already knew about this detail, he was still a little surprised to hear it again though.
[Hah! I have worked for decades by now, and my strongest Fragment is this one... The [Ice Ninja] Fragment. Tsk, it's only at the lowest rank... Even if it gets to E Rank, so what?]
The Reciter quickly shook his head, [I shouldn't compare myself to those at the top of my game, I should be happy about this. Among my circle of friends, I'm already one of the best Reciters, that's good enough for me.]
Gara sighed with a smile, then opened his mouth to talk again, "Alright, so let me get this straight, okay? You, as a Dragon... An Injuka Dragon at that, want to become the best Reciter there is?"
Marcus who didn't understand emotions well, only nodded his head in reply again. Gara clapped his hands while laughing.
He then breathed in deeply and said, "You're amazing! I like you already, you're just as crazy as me... I want to become the strongest there is inside the Story World... Haha! Two crazy goals for two crazy guys! I like it!"
He then continued, "You got [Informant Z] Reciting the strongest Fragment there is, the only Z Ranked Fragment inside the Story World."
"Then you have the [Traveler], creator of the Final Express, also Reciter of the [Dark Castle] Series of Fragments... Hahaha!"
Gara nodded, "Then you have me, wanting to compete with the likes of the [Gold Emperor], the [Grey Rose], the [Final Emperor], no... Scratch that, all of them are nothing when compared to the strongest there is, the [First One Out]."
"I want to beat his record and become the new strongest... Hey, what do you say we both take the Final Express together and adventure through the Story World?"
"You can't learn the fundamentals of being a Reciter either way until you're A Rank, so? I can teach you about emotions, you teach me some Fire Techniques, and we call it a day?"
The Readers listening in started getting fired up hearing about Gara's crazy dream, as well as Marcus'. Both were so grand in scope, that no one thought them possible to achieve.
Yet, they still enjoyed seeing two people who actually dreamed big, it was very rare to find people who spoke about their dreams, dreams that seemed impossible to complete.
Marcus stared at Gara for a few seconds, then replied in his deep and removed tone, "You want to learn about Fire Techniques, why is that?"
Gara smiled, he enjoyed such questions since they had to do with his Story. "Ahm, let me explain a little... My Story's name is [Root of All Things]... And I intend to do just that."
"Learn everything there is to learn. I have learned a bit of Wood Techniques, this Fragment's main Storyline helped me learn Ice Techniques... And since I found an Injuka Dragon, why not learn Fire Techniques in the process of it all?"
Now that everyone heard about Gara's Story, and what the name behind it meant, they stood up in shock again. More viewers arrived to watch the show.
The Reciter's grin widened in the process as well. [Hehehe! Only a few more and I can advance the Fragment to E Rank, c'mon, say some crazy stuff again... C'mon, you can do it! I believe in you, Gara!]
...
For the first time, Marcus's expression changed. He raised an eyebrow in interest, and everyone watching caught this small change.
This was not only because Marcus was a huge Dragon, meaning his face was clear to all, but also because he was a young one.
"You want to learn everything?"
"Yup, I've learned a bit, and want to learn more, I'm starting with Elements since they're the easiest, but I intend to learn Martial Arts, become a Weapons' Master, and much more as well... You know... everything!" Replied the blue-haired young man.
"That is very interesting indeed... I like that about you." Said Marcus. Gara's expression turned into one of surprise, this was the first time aside from mentioning his dream that Marcus had expressed a feeling.
'He seems to have learned a bit from this Fragment already, that's quite cool.' Gara then continued, "Anyway... My dream is to get a ride on the Final Express, I mean, who doesn't want to?"
The large Dragon nodded his head, "I have a Ticket, do you?"
Gara shook his head in disappointment, "Nope, I got a friend who knows how to acquire one... But he won't say... Maybe you... Ahm, forget it."
The Dragon seemed a little confused but after a few seconds he understood Gara's meaning, "My Ticket was gifted to me by my Father, I don't know how to acquire tickets."
"Oh! Alright, got it... Hmmm, I'll try to get one. Last I checked, the Train will appear near the [Town of No Return] in about a month from now... Do you wanna meet then and there?"
The Dragon thought about it and then nodded, "I can't get out now, and so I won't be able to teach you Fire Techniques for the moment. But once we meet in the future, we can try to make good on our deal."
Gara smiled and raised a fist in the air, "C'mon, fist pump with me to make true on the deal... Be lenient though."
The Dragon did as asked, his fist was as large as twenty of Garas. The two fist-pumped and the whole crowd watching went into chaos.
The Reciter's smile grew wider, [Only a tiny bit let... And E Rank it is!]
Gara and Marcus continued talking for the next hour about various things. Finally, Gara decided that it was time to leave.
The Dragon asked, "How will you get a Ticket?"
"I'm not sure I'll be able to get one the normal way, so I intend to steal one during the Ticket Hunting Event before the Train departs. I presume you would help me?"
Marcus thought about it for a second, then agreed, "That's what friends do, right? They help each other when in need?"
Gara grinned in reply and nodded, "Yup, I'll do the same and help you keep your Ticket in hand until it's time for the Train to depart."
With that, Gara stared into the horizon and called out, "Master Reciter, I know that you can hear me... Can you let me out of the Fragment? I can't finish the climax as intended... And I don't want to die, so please?"
There were three different ways to leave a Fragment's Story. Finish the Story, Die, and leave through the Reciter's will (Either kicked out or like Gara is trying to do).
The Readers watching were left hyped for what was to come in the future. Some started discussing the Ticket Hunting Event.
Every year the Train stops at a certain place inside the Story World to recruit new passengers. The new passengers either acquire their Tickets through normal means or through the Ticket Hunting Event.
It didn't matter if you were gifted the Ticket, you stole it, bought it or whatever, what mattered was that you had a Ticket.
The Train usually stays put for a day or two before departing again, sometimes only a few hours. Gara's only chance of getting a Ticket, for now, was through the Ticket Hunting Event.
He had tried a few years ago but failed because he was still too weak. Now that he was approaching the E Rank Level, and had the help of an Injuka Dragon, he was more confident in his chances.