Second World

'You could just touch them if you want to read their stats,' he heard Peniel's voice. 'Also, don't bother to look for uncommon or rare equipment. Normal shops usually just sell common equipment.'

'Oh, I guess that it's pointless for me to hang around then.'

Jack was just about to exit the shop when he thought of something. He immediately turned around and approached the woman who was the shop owner.

"Do you sell magic equipment?" He asked her.

"Of course," the woman said with excitement.

"It's over here by this stand," she said as she led Jack to the other side of the shop. There were numerous robes, wands, staffs, and garments hung on the stand.

He asked the owner, "Can you get me three of your cheapest magic staffs?"

The owner looked at him, "Are you not going to look at their stats first, sir?"

"It's ok. Any stats are fine by me," Jack replied.

The owner was confused but still proceeded to fulfill the request. She went and picked up three magic staffs from the stand.

'What are you thinking about doing?' Peniel asked.

'My magic weapon is underpowered,' Jack said. 'I think it's time to put that Transformation Cube to the test, don't you?'

"Oh… I see what you're getting at." Peniel caught on quickly.

The owner came back and placed the three staffs on a small table nearby. Jack checked them over; they were all level 5 common grade magic staffs. Their total price came to 5 silver and 40 copper. Magical pieces of equipment, it turned out, were slightly more expensive than their physical counterparts. The total cost was above Jack's budget. He was depressed.

"Do you buy items too?" He asked the owner.

The owner nodded, "Yes, if you have items or equipment you can't use, we can buy them from you."

Jack then took out some of the equipment that he had stocked away in his oversized storage bag and  thought he would never use. He placed Tunic cloth, Protective Dress, Leather Vest, and Sandals on the table, then prayed that these were enough.

"How much would you pay for these?" He asked.

"I will take them off your hands for 1 silver and 52 copper," the owner said.

'So low?' Jack thought.

He gritted his teeth and decided to just sell all four pieces. After all, they weren't any use to him. Deducting the price of the three magic staffs, he just needed to pay 3 silver and 88 copper. After the transaction, he only had 1 silver and 1 copper coins in his bag. He felt much poorer suddenly. He stored the staffs, said his thanks to the owner, and made his way out.

He didn't stop at any other shops after that, afraid he couldn't resist the temptation to spend his few remaining coins. He passed by a white building in the shape of a tower. He saw many people in white robes going in and out of the building.

'What's that place?' Jack silently asked Peniel.

'That is a library,' Peniel answered. 'In fact, that's the first place most new arrivals should visit if they want to find out more information regarding this world. But you don't need it, of course, because you have me!'

He heard a hint of pride in Peniel's voice. He didn't deny it, as she really was a big help. Without her guidance, he would be lost and wouldn't know what to do when he arrived in this new world.

Jack then thought of Silverwing, who was currently trying to collect information. He opened his Friends interface and sent a short message informing him about the Library and its position.

A moment later, he received a prompt reply, "Thanks, my friend! I will send people there right away."

After asking another two natives to point the way, Jack finally arrived in front of the Adventurers Association building. It was a large and luxurious building. The layout seemed to be oval-shaped judging from the curved walls; it was completely out of place next to all the medieval building styles in the vicinity. The walls were supported by round pillars every eight meters. There were runes on the surface of the pillars; they flickered with light every now and then. Jack figured it to be some kind of magic enchantment that protected the place.

Judging from all the people coming in and out, Jack figured that he should be free to enter the building. He went right in the front entrance and was immediately greeted by a man in purple-colored formal attire.

"Greetings, sir, are you an adventurer?" He asked.

Jack answered, "Yes, at least I wish to be."

"New adventurers should register first, please come with me." He led Jack towards a counter staffed by a young girl.

Before leaving Jack at the counter, he said, "Once you are done with your registration, you can proceed to the Bronze Hall to review available quests."

The girl held a dark red orb. "What's your name, sir?"

"Storm Wind," Jack answered.

"Please put your hand on this orb, sir," she said.

When Jack followed her instructions, the orb color turned more reddish. The girl at the counter scribbled something on a sheet of paper while mumbling, "age 23, Fighter class, level 13."

The orb's light died down. She took it back and then placed a flat round object of bronze color on the counter.

"This is your adventurer badge sir, please keep it with you at all times. You will need to show it when you apply for a quest and when you submit the completion of your quest."

Jack nodded and took the badge. He observed it.

Bronze Adventurer Badge (special item)

Identification as a member of Adventurers Association

Adventurer points: 0

Available points: 0

He asked the girl how to get to the Bronze Hall. After getting the directions, he thanked her and started off.

The Bronze Hall was spacious with walls lined with many counters. Each of the counters was manned by staff members. Several people were at these counters doing business with the staff. Some people were leisurely sitting on rows of benches that were placed so they could read the quests on three large notice boards that hung from the ceiling.

'Bronze Hall and bronze badge. Looking at the name, I figure there must be ranks within adventurers?' Jack asked Peniel as he held the badge.

'Of course, there are ranks for almost everything,' Peniel replied. 'The Bronze rank is the lowest. You need to complete several Bronze rank quests and accumulate points in order to upgrade to the next rank.'

'That would be the point count I saw when I inspected the badge?'

'Yes, after you complete an Association quest, you will be awarded points and rewards. The points will be recorded on your badge. You can also report quest completions for quests which you've received directly from people or from the system when you're out in the city or in the wild. But those reports will not net you any rewards from the Association, just points. And the points given are also much lower compared to what you'll receive for undertaking quests from the Association.'

'I see. Why are there two point categories in this badge? Do I get two different points?'

'No. They keep track of the same points. The difference is, Adventurer Points records the total points you have accumulated over your entire career and determines your rank in the Association, while Available Points shows the points you have that you can exchange for items at the Adventurers Association. At the start, those two amounts will be the same, but when you start exchanging points for items, the second one will decrease.'

'I can exchange points for items?'

'Yes, so go out there and accumulate as many points as you can! Some items and equipment can only be gotten here. The higher the rank you earn, the better the prizes.'

'How many ranks are there?'

"Four. First one is Bronze, which is where you are. The next is Silver, then Gold, and the highest grade is Diamond. Normally there were only a handful of Diamond adventurers in a country. They are those of the highest points and countless battle records."

'So, a lot of natives are also adventurers? Does that mean we will meet some out there in the field?'

'Certainly. But now that you outworlders are here, you folks will most likely take up the bulk of the adventuring.'

Jack thought that was weird. In past VR games NPCs only stayed in safe zones and repeated programmed routines. He kept on forgetting this was a whole other world, not just some game he could log in and out of.

'Outworlders… I still can't get used to that name.'

'Never mind that, hurry up and take a quest. You need to grab as many prizes as you can before the others realize the importance of this place.'

'All right, but I need to at least inform Bowler and Flame about this place so they can get ahead of the others as well.'

'Man… You really are a goodie-do-gooder, you know that?' Peniel complained in exasperation.