Chapter 12

After organizing our inventory and resting from our difficult entry into illegality, we decided to leave what was not necessary in the safe in the room. We knew that whatever was left there could not be stolen in any way, so the first thing we put in it was the ownership contract for the hotel room. We had made a pact, so none of the four of us would sell it, come what may.

Zen was ready to visit the Guild Fountain that gave access to the Path of the Mage, which would make our virtuality begin to differ from reality. Already with powers of a path, at least Zen could feel like a superhuman.

ramen face ,” Greek said, “we don't have our whole lives to wait for you to make up your mind. I'm already like new, so let's go.

“I see that you are learning new words from each other's country. Dagon was in a good mood, as always. He amused himself with the fights that were thrown between the Italian and the Japanese.

"How are things in real life, Dagon?" “I asked for.

He worked in a restaurant, the kind of place where people used to talk about how hard life was, even though as a cook he didn't know much anyway.

“Oil has run out, the economy is collapsing, and pollution has reached too high a level. The big guy shook his head. Of the birth rates better not to speak. Countries closed borders after the war and foreign policy did not exist until very recently, although it seems that now everything is beginning to be restored.

"Reality has gone to hell," Greek said. Power has been corrupted and we are more individualistic than ever. No wonder we live in Allsium, everything is easier, faster and more fun.

"Yeah, especially if you're being chased by mobsters in the real world," Zen said sarcastically.

"And now in Allsium, too," Greek replied with a half smile. I hope with your new powers you can save our asses.

“You must be looking forward to entering the Path of the Wizard. Dagon was more excited than the Japanese. I don't know how I'll feel when I choose mine. I already feel like it.

"I'm a little nervous, yes," replied the Japanese.

"Shut up, dummy . " Don't even think about screwing it up, eh?

"A wizard is a wizard," Dagon said. No matter which path you choose, it will still be useful.

“See, mafioso from three to four? Zen agreed . We magicians are made of a different material.

"I think it's time to end the talk and get serious guys," I finally said.

We arrived at the hotel hall, which was full of adventurers, and when we asked, they directed us to the restaurant, a place that looked more like a canteen. The crowd gathered in front of a large wooden cork announcing the missions. You couldn't take anything, they were holograms, but you had to read all of them to be able to accept the Initium missions. There were so many that sometimes by chance they could be completed, such as killing some beast on the planet or discovering some unexplored area.

The illegal worlds of Allsium functioned like most of those massive online role”playing games that were very popular in its day. However, as a result of virtual reality, these video games fell into oblivion. It was much better to be the one visiting different planets and places yourself, fighting and combating wild beasts and feeling that you were never safe.

"Guys, I read yesterday that the experience accumulated during the adventure can only be redeemed in the Guild Fountains," Dagon explained as we waited for Zen to read all the quests. He still had a good time.

"Yeah, it's bullshit," said Greek, "but that means the only one who's going to be able to acquire new skills and become stronger is the hikikomori . "

"You're in luck," I commented. It's going to be very powerful all of a sudden.

"Well, don't let that spring roll get too much to your head."

Apart from the path skills, which in his case were those of the path he chose, an adventurer in illegality gained experience that could be exchanged for physical skills. Those experience points could be earned by completing quests or achievements; some were not even listed in the Good Player's Handbook and were hidden secrets, so sometimes the adventurer could be pleasantly surprised. We had already accumulated experience and completed some missions, such as reaching Initium, having our first confrontation or acquiring a property, although the latter was difficult.

Thus, Zen, in addition to being able to acquire physical skill points, which would make him stronger, more agile or more resistant, could also invest in skills for the path he chose within the Path of the Wizard. The rest of us would continue to accumulate experience until we reached the Guild Fountain of the path we chose.

We decided not to carry out missions in Initium and to pay for the trip that would take us to our next destination: Tveirland. That's where we hoped to find more interesting quests, and who knew, maybe Greek, Dagon and I could get started on some path, like Zen.

“What physical skill points would you exchange with accumulated experience, guys? Dagon was very fond of opening discussions about Allsium. He lived less than we did there, so he considered us little more than scholars on lawlessness.

"Well, I think gaining strength and speed is basic," Greek said. Now we have the same strength as in real life, and that's pretty sad.

"He's right," I pointed out. I have killed myself studying and practicing martial arts of all kinds, but with the strength that I have, anyone could beat me. I need power and speed, so I won't need weapons.

“Still, we will need weapons. “The Italian loved to wield all kinds of firearms.

I hated them.

"So strength and speed," Dagon mused. And what do you plan to do without resistance?

There he had given us. It didn't take long for those thugs to kill us, especially Greek, who wasn't physically in very good shape, and he was used to running away in real life. It was inexplicable that someone with his physical condition was still alive. You could tell that Greek was a habitual of extreme survival.

“By that rule of three, we will always have something unbalanced. Greek was right. I'd rather punch and kill anything that comes my way than run. If I use this tactic I don't need any resistance, right, ragazzone ?

Dagon didn't care if Greek called him big. In fact, he was two meters tall and had lost a bit of weight. He no longer weighed three hundred pounds, but he still had a lot of work to do to get in shape. Dagon always said that when he distributed those extra pounds well, no one would dare mess with him. However, he drew a lot of attention and his good”natured face was impossible to hide, which is why in real life he was still picked on and even beaten; whoever did it knew that the big guy would never try to protect himself.

But that was going to change at Allsium. We would make him someone to fear and respect.

He just needed to do his part.

"Well, all the missions are read," Zen said. You can read them in the group panel.

The group panel was accessed mentally, it was like a drop”down menu where we could access our skill parameters, our development path, when we had it, and the missions we could carry out on the planet. Going into the quest menu I saw that we had more than thirty active in Initium.

“Damn fusilli al pesto , have you already read all thirty? cried Greek. Wow.

"Someone had to do it, pepperoni”san ." You already know that I spend the day reading and that I can do it very quickly. If we had to have waited for you, the night would still give us.

Reason was not lacking. Zen was the administrative part of the group, the one who kept the rules up to date and who never missed a single one. And soon he was going to be the most powerful of the group, so we had to take care of him a little.

"You're great, Zen," Dagon applauded. I am not very good at letters or studying. I'm more into doing practical things, like cooking.

"I wish I could cook without burning the house down," Greek blurted out.

"Yeah, you're more than… nah, you're not good at anything," Zen replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Greek grumbled and Dagon smiled.

At last we had the missions saved just in case, something that was not going to take us much time, since we were going to skip them.

However, we hear some very peculiar musical notes.

"What was that melody?" “said”. It sounds like a lot to me.

“Fuck! Zen exclaimed. But it's the victory song from Final Fantasy VII !

It was a video game that had marked a before and after in the already banished sector of consoles. They existed, yes, but with the advent of virtuality, the industry preferred to invest in Allsium. Even so, video games were relics of the past that were still very much present, and Allsium drew on all those geeky elements to create its worlds. That song was a tribute to one of the great video games in history.

"That's enough, rigatoni ," Greek said dismissively. It looks like you're going to cry and everything.

It's one of the best games ever! cried the Japanese. Don't even think about badmouthing Final Fantasy VII .

"Seems like quite a long saga," Dagon commented.

“He came to have twenty”four installments with that name, and that's not counting the many other games based on his universe. What a rush it has given me, guys. He was exultant and his eyes sparkled. Those of Allsium have shown off with this. Does it really not ring a bell? The best of the saga were the first, from the fortnight the formula was exhausted, like the sector in general. A pity.

"Of course it sounds familiar," I replied. Who hasn't played a Final Fantasy ? I believe that in the Land of Allsium you can still buy consoles. In fact, there are still arcades and the truth is that they are always full.

"While the crazy person continues crying with emotion, I inform you that I have discovered that this victory song is used to announce the completion of a mission," said Greek.

They couldn't have chosen a better tune.

"Wow, that means experience for the group!" Dagon said brightly. Those are our first points, guys.

There were general Allsium achievements and ones specific to the planet in question. Allsium's generals used to be more challenging challenges, while those of each planet depended on the difficulty of that one; like killing wild beasts or discovering places that were not marked on the map.

"The achievements are," Greek enunciated, "Get to Initium, discover a cave and use it as shelter, enter the hotel, read all the missions, enter combat mode , fight other people, knock more than two enemies unconscious, use firearms, stealing from someone, acquiring property in Initium, and killing a person in Allsium. He ended up with almost no air in his lungs. That's all, ragazzi .

It was logical that as soon as they arrived at Initium, the first planet of illegality, the adventurers received experience even for throwing a stone, but some of those achievements were of a general nature; some difficult to achieve even by the most experienced, such as killing a person or acquiring property.

"Jeez," Zen snapped, "what a lot of experience we've gotten, guys."

“It's normal “said Dagon”, there are missions that are very basic, but others have a fairly high range of difficulty.

The quests ranged from E rank to S rank. E rank quests were very easy, such as reaching a planet, entering somewhere, or talking to a special person. However, the B, A and S ranks were another matter. Sometimes, in the explanation of the mission, the system itself invited to wait a while and advised to buy some healing items, it could even warn that you were not ready to complete it. Allsium had to always remember that in the event of death one could never return to the system.

“Wow, we've completed an S”rank mission, ragazzi . Greek smiled as he raised an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah? “I asked for. Apparently, he was the only one in the group who wasn't looking at the quests. Which is it?

"Guess," Zen said between his teeth.

"Killing a person in Allsium, of course," Greek replied proudly of himself. I don't know what you're complaining about, samurai, the experience points from that single mission have already given us double the sum of all the others.

It was logical. Taking a life on Allsium meant that the other person could never access the system, that they were forever trapped in bland real life. Allsium had classified it as an S rank mission because the repercussions of such an action were very momentous, especially for the one who lost virtuality.

"I don't think many people have managed to complete that mission," I said somewhat naively. But it was us or them, there was no more.

"Maybe not in Initium," Greek replied, "but as we travel and discover planets you'll see the kind of people who camp in Allsium." We are not the only ones who want power, stronzos , be very clear.

"Well, I hope this gives me so I can invest in a lot of skills when I'm a wizard." Zen was already mulling over how to invest the experience in the most profitable way possible.

"We envy you, Zen." Dagon spoke a truth like a temple.

“You have to hurry, fusilli head , we also have experience points to spend one day. Let's go to the blissful initiation at once, come on.

We were dying to see what mage abilities Zen would get, and also how strong he would become after investing in physical abilities. He could be much more agile or resistant than any person in reality, and the more points he invested in said physical abilities, the greater the difference with an ordinary human.

"Okay, let's go to the Guild Fountain," Zen announced. It is on the first floor.

Many adventurers accompanied us, there was a great movement of people. Most had first come into lawlessness, which is why the Initium initiation ceremony was so famous. In addition to being the only one on the planet, it was one of the few that Allsium let the real world know. In general, the system automatically eliminated any trace of information, both on the real and virtual internet, about the adventure that awaited all travelers on the planets of illegality. Allsium did not tolerate that the traveler could obtain facilities of any kind.

If in real life there were none, virtuality was not going to be less.

No one knew what Zen had to go through to become a magician anyway. According to the Japanese, there were as many test descriptions on the deep web forums as people had passed them. No initiation ceremony was the same as the previous one. Allsium was far ahead of those who played cheating.

We queued in the room that gave access to the Guild Fountain door. It was a spacious and very luxurious place, like the rest of the hotel. Travelers kept going in and out of the door, and when it closed the next one would come in, over and over again. At the end of the day hundreds of thousands of people had to pass through there.

It was access to a parallel reality, just like the hotel rooms. Otherwise it would be impossible for such a number of travelers to be able to carry out the test so quickly.

"Do we all have to go?" Greek asked.

"No, you can't go. “An adventurer who was sitting in an armchair answered us. There were so many, it seemed more like a waiting room than anything else. We have tried, but the system has prevented us.

Next to him was another companion. They must have been a bunch, just like us, thirty”somethings who might be looking for a second chance at Allsium after living through the troubles of real life. There were a lot of people who bet everything in Allsium, so in that room there were kids who had just reached the age of majority, and even fifty”somethings with the desire to live many adventures. As life expectancy had lengthened a lot, and in Allsium one aged, although conserving physical abilities, grandparents who were over one hundred years old could not be missing. People who, in reality, were confined at home for almost the whole day, suffering from all kinds of physical pain typical of age, but who in Allsium managed to forget them because none of that affected them.

Thanks to the fact that experience could be invested in physical skill points, the parameters improved, so that a hundred and twenty year old was able to run faster than an eighteen year old. These people could choose to spend the rest of their lives peacefully on virtual Earth, since they suffered no disease there, although the bravest decided that it was worth living one last adventure for their remaining years.

"You can hurry up now, ravioli face ," Greek urged as he went to sit in one of the armchairs.

"I'm coming, I'm coming, baka . " It meant fool in Japanese, it was one of the few words I knew. Take advantage of the time in the meantime.

"Greek is nodding off already," Dagon reported. I think I'm going to take a walk around the hotel. Are you coming Gunner?

It was incredible how easily the Italian had to fall asleep anywhere. It didn't matter if he was in danger or if there were thousands of people chatting and shouting around him.

It wasn't really necessary to sleep in Allsium, so he would have taken the opportunity to return to reality.

"I think I'm in," I replied. Zen, let us know when you're leaving. And choose well, eh? I winked at him. Luck.

"Cheer up, Zen," Dagon said, clenching his fists. Can.

"Thank you guys, you are very kind. As soon as I finish I tell you something.

He bowed and followed the tail of what appeared to be the sinuous body of a snake that would eventually be swallowed through a door.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what the Path of the Wizard has to offer," Dagon said brightly as we left the crowded room where we left an Italian taking a nap.